


Johto Breeze

by PeachyParchment



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Adventure, Animal Abuse, Biological Warfare, Children, Coming of Age, Crimes & Criminals, Friendship, Gym Challenges, Illegal Activities, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, No Romance, Science Experiments, Slow Burn, Spiritual
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-10
Updated: 2017-01-17
Packaged: 2018-09-16 12:59:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 27,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9272828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeachyParchment/pseuds/PeachyParchment
Summary: In order to achieve her dream of becoming a pokemon ranger, Charlotte Evergreen must obtain the eight badges of Johto to appease her mother. Obstructed by the enigmatic Spore Initiative, Charlotte musters what little confidence she has to fight for more than just her dreams.





	1. Dashed Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlotte's protective mother refuses to grant her daughter permission to become a ranger so she must set out on the path of a trainer in order to appease her.

**Chapter One: Dashed Dreams**

Taking a deep breath, the girl filled her lungs with brisk morning air. She had much to do so unfortunately she had to put an end to her swim sooner rather than later. With a heavy weight upon her heart she stood, water trickling down her freckled skin. After a stretch and a yawn she waded towards the bank, ripples surrounding her. She pulled herself out of the water unceremoniously, almost slipping upon deep green moss.

With a small smile on her lips, she padded towards the slumbering hypno she considered as family. She gently poked his forehead, stirring him. Soon, his earthy brown eyes pulled open, boring into the girl's blue-grey ones, his mind puzzled as to where he was.

"We're in the woods near home, grandpa," she reminded him with a giggle, standing upright.

He heaved himself to his feet, resting his weight upon his walking stick, his breath hitching with the effort. The girl watched him with concern. "We're not far from home," she assured him, skipping towards a nearby path.

She cheerily pushed her way through the narrow path, humming a tune to herself as she did so. Her feet fell heavily on the cool cobblestone as she ran in the direction of her home, carrot orange hair billowing behind her. Hypno tried his best to keep up, in spite of his wheezing chest.

Within several minutes, the girl had come to her destination, waiting for her weary grandfather to catch up. The house was as old as the city itself though it was well kept by her pretentious mother. It had a traditional appeal to it, complete with a slatted roof and walls of bleached plaster.

"Take your time Grandpa!" she called as he neared her. The old pokemon increased his pace slightly anyway. The girl smiled at him, relieved that he was able to walk all that way. She twisted the brass unlocked doorknob and let herself in, holding the door open for the hypno. He hobbled over to his favourite seat and set himself down. The girl just shook her head in pity before heading for the kitchen.

"Hi mum," she chirped a little hesitantly. The woman was pouring some pokemon kibble into bowls with deliberate and precise movements from practice. There was flour clinging to her apron and the scent of freshly baked muffins wafted in the stuffy kitchen.

"Charlotte!" she snapped, her piercing green eyes meeting hers with a glare, her glasses slipping on the bridge of her button nose. She pushed them up with a flourish. The girl backed away, wondering what she had done to anger her mother this time. She then noticed a trio of very hungry looking pokemon behind the counter. One was a stantler with large antlers, another was a balding noctowl and the final was very grouchy looking clefable. She knew these pokemon very well, well enough to know not to get in the way of them and their food.

"Go get ready," she said, gaze softening as she placed the bowls before the three pokemon. They instantly began stuffing their faces, crumbs flying here and there – one hitting the small girl in the middle of her forehead. Charlotte's smile wavered. Her hands began to shake a little along with a rise of anxiety. She wasn't ready for today even though she had known this day was coming for a long time.

"Some baby Pokemon have been delivered to the lab," she informed, hanging up a tea towel and turning to her daughter, "I would like you to go visit them for me."

The mother grinned to herself as her daughter's eyes lit up with excitement. No matter how upset she was about the circumstances, the prospect of meeting pokemon always brought joy to her. But her excitement soon died down as she remembered what she was really there for.

"Okay," she said softly, almost forgetting to answer. "I'll go get dressed." She added. She forced a smile but her mother caught on immediately.

"Charlotte, wait," snapped her mother once more, "I'm not finished." Charlotte's false grin drooped as she turned back. Her mother's gaze had an edge to it once more – a particular sharpness that Charlotte had become accustomed to. The cheery mood she had been in was dampened as a silence passed between the pair, the munching of pokemon the only sound in the room.

"No hesitating or worrying," she said.

Charlotte would have been overjoyed at the chance – what child doesn't want a pokemon? But she knew what her mother meant by all this. She would not be given a pokemon just to love and nurture as a companion – this was a rite of passage that sent all trainers on their journeys. She wanted to get swept up in the duties and traditions of trainers in the slightest. Her mother tapped her nails on the linoleum, gaze hardening as her daughter began to argue.

"We…we've talked a-about this," she muttered. "I don't want to be a trainer. I want pokemon, y-yeah but I just w-want to keep…" She trailed off with a frustrated sigh – her mother was too intense for her to argue against. Charlotte was aware that things would end this way. She had spoken at length about it with a good friend of hers and he had managed to reduce her fears towards the idea.

"You are becoming a trainer and that is final," said her mother, "It runs in your – our - blood."

Charlotte was silent, her fixed on her dirty feet. Her mother sighed softly as she shook her head in dismay. Despite her harsh attitude towards her daughter she still loved her deeply and wished for her to be happy. Therefore she had to put aside some of her own beliefs and ways to make a deal with her daughter that would ultimately benefit them both.

"If you wish to become a ranger so much, collect all the badges of this region. Then I will allow you to follow that silly dream of yours."

Charlotte's gaze remained on her feet, eyes stinging. She had cried enough about this – she had no more tears to give. She didn't want to challenge all those strong people - pokemon would get hurt and she didn't want that. She just wanted to be a ranger and help everyone like her heroes on the television.

"Charlotte," she said, much kinder this time, "Do it in honour of our family, for your dreams. This is very important. You may not realise this now but in the future you will look back upon your journey with a smile."

After another awkward, heavy silence, the young girl spoke up, meeting her mother's gaze with determined eyes. "I know and I'll try," she replied. "But only if you really promise to let me be a ranger after this."

"I promise," her mother hesitantly replied, holding her pinkie finger aloft. Her daughter smiled slowly, though there was still apprehension in her blue-grey eyes. Charlotte was frightened and reluctant to do as her mother instructed - it was dangerous and difficult out there but it was for her mother and her dream.

"Pinkie promise," she chirped, wrapping her pinkie around her mother's. The mood lightened, as if a weight had been taken off their shoulders. Charlotte left the living room to get her things ready. She would have to pass through Violet City in order to progress, but she would not be returning home. This would be the last time she would see her home for a long time.

She threw on her day clothes, tugged a brush through her messy locks and slung her rucksack, which she had prepared yesterday, over her slender shoulders. It was lighter than she expected, making her worry that she was not bringing enough.

Once she had prepared herself as much as possible, she headed back downstairs and towards the door, turning towards her mother. She was now sitting on the couch with an espeon curled in her lap, worry etched in the wrinkles of her face. Hypno was awake now and staring at Charlotte with pride gleaming in his beady eyes.

"Will…will I be okay?" she asked, hovering around the door, feeling as though her exit was a little unceremonious – this was meant to be important and she felt like she was missing something.

"You will be fine," she said as she stroked the espeon's ears. As she stared at the form of her daughter by the door, her heart couldn't help but ache. She hadn't let her daughter stray too far from her line of sight before – this world was incredibly dangerous and packed with monsters that could maul her if they were provoked enough.

She looked so small standing there. Her blue-grey eyes were wide and shimmering with nerves, anticipation and fear. She's a girl who would work tirelessly to get what she wants, to follow her dreams, to do what she believes is right. But her curiosity, fear and shyness always got in the way.

"Okay," Charlotte agreed, "Oh! And I'll get to say hi to Gold while I'm there too," she added as an afterthought. "He can probably give me some advice." Her mother nodded, her expression becoming serious as she got to her feet, the espeon leaping off her lap and trotting at her heels. She sauntered up to her daughter, peering down at her through her spectacles.

"On your way back through the city, you are to challenge the monks to help you prepare for your journey," she instructed. Charlotte nodded reluctantly – she knew how strong those monks were and was scared but at least they were kind. She rested her hands on her daughter's shoulders before pulling her into a hug.

Charlotte buried her pudgy face into the woman's shoulder, taking in her comforting scent of baked goods and pokemon fur. She clung to her like she would never see her again, her body shaking all over. Her mother broke off from her, tucking a stray lock of tangled orange hair behind the young girl's ear.

Hypno's bones audibly creaked with the effort as he got to his feet and drew Charlotte into another hug. Once she pulled away, she felt a sudden weight at her chest. Looking down, she found that her grandfather had slipped his pendent around her neck. Surprised, she looked up and opened her mouth to protest but he held up a hand and shook his hand.

Her mother smiled softly at him, then at her daughter. "He'll be watching over you so make sure you don't get into any trouble – we'll be the first to hear of it." Charlotte giggled half-heartedly. Both she and her mother were surprised that the hypno had given up the pendent – it was one of his species most prized possessions. "Remember to call me every day from the pokemon centre," she said firmly. "Take good care of your pokemon and remember what I have taught you."


	2. Trainers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlotte receives her first pokemon and officially becomes a trainer, despite her best wishes.

**Chapter Two: Trainers**

It was a lengthy trek, taking until late morning for Charlotte to reach New Bark Town. She had made sure to avoid the tall grass, even taking detours to assure she wouldn't have any surprise encounters.

Her heart skipped a beat upon catching sight of the whirring wind turbines, the breeze picking up as she approached the town. She passed by white picket fences, the grass tickling her ankles. The ocean glittered in the distance and the faint roar of the waves could be heard. The air smelt like freshly cut grass and sea salt.

It was a beautiful scene and she was quite distracted by it until she remembered what she was there for. With a rapidly beating heart, she scanned the pale green houses with an excited grin. Her eyes rested upon a building that was larger than the others with a wooden sign that read 'Pokemon Lab'. She wondered why she hadn't spotted it the moment she walked into the town.

"Oi! Charlotte!" exclaimed a familiar voice. She turned towards the sound, ears pricked and eyes wide with anticipation. Suddenly, a pair of arms snaked around her, seemingly out of nowhere. Fearfully, she screamed and kicked at her captor. Unfortunately, he was much stronger than her and just laughed loudly at her attempts.

Then she realised it was only Gold. She stopped struggling and he let go of her, still laughing. A blush crept over her cheeks in embarrassment. She crossed her arms, trying to make herself look tough.

"Don't do that," she huffed. However, she couldn't help but begin to smile; after all, it had been just under two years since she had last seen him. She had missed him. The story of how they met is a simple one: Gold had travelled to Violet City during the early days of his adventure and, through a series of events, they became friends.

"If you don't want me to scare you then pay more attention to what's going on," he grinned, flicking her forehead. She smiled weakly, rubbing the back of her head awkwardly.

"Yeah," she giggled.

For a moment, she wondered if this was the same boy she knew a couple years back. There was little difference in his appearance; same raven black hair that stuck at odd angles out of his cap, same cheeky golden eyes, and same mischievous grin. He trusty fire type still stood by his side, though he had now fully evolved into a typhlosion. No matter how hard Charlotte stared at him, she couldn't figure out what was missing.

"Anyway," he said, smirking, "I bet you're here to hear about my epic journey."

She wanted to see him and hear his story, sure, but she was here for the new pokemon. She found herself caught between staying to hear Gold's story and meeting some pokemon. After a mental debate, she decided she'd see the pokemon first, then promptly attend Gold's adventure lecture.

"Of course!" she said enthusiastically, not wanting to offend him. "But I have to see the new Pokemon first. I'm…uh…supposed to be getting one for my journey."

Remembrance flashed in Gold's eyes as he recalled seeing a delivery truck roll up to the lab the day previous. It must have contained a shipment of starter Pokemon for the coming of age trainers. A large grin grew on the boy's face as he gazed down at the short girl. It was about time: she was eleven and had barely set foot outside of Violet City.

"Oh, yeah! Old man Elm said that your mum called him about that!" exclaimed Gold before he grabbed her wrist roughly. "Let's go then!"

He basically dragged Charlotte towards the lab. She almost tripped over a couple times on the way there but he mercilessly continued tugging her onwards, spouting random stories on the way. She found it funny actually, both her clumsiness and his boastful tales.

As soon as they reached the lab, the older boy unceremoniously shoved Charlotte through the electronic sliding doors, chuckling. He smiled mischievously and waved at her through the glass, eager to see which pokemon she would choose. Charlotte just waved at him awkwardly before turning her back on him and heading deeper into the lab.

She fiddled with the zip of her jacket nervously as her eyes searched the room for any signs of somebody professor-looking. Orderly rows of shelves filled the room, containing many strange scientific doodads that Charlotte couldn't even begin to recognise. There were a few work desks here and there, papers and books stacked upon them, big words written on them that she hadn't learnt. She was constantly reminding herself not to touch anything.

She reached the back of the room, spotting some machinery. One of them she recognised as a healing station similar to that of a Pokemon Center, hooked up to a large laptop on a nearby desk. Another large machine caught her eye, though she had no clue what it was. Her eyes traced over the three circular indents behind a thick shield of glass. Each indent held a glossy pokeball.

"Hello there," said a sudden voice, followed by the loud smack of a pile of books being placed down. Charlotte screamed loudly in fright, accidently tripping over a bundle of cords and landing heavily on her behind. She immediately noticed that it was just the professor she had been looking for earlier.

"Oh sorry for scaring you!' apologised the professor, trying to comfort the girl. Charlotte nodded, waving her hand back and forth as if dusting the comment away, unable to speak still. She carefully got to her feet, backing away a little in order to keep her distance from the man. He looked and acted exactly the same to the way he did on the television.

"N-no problem," she replied meekly, her stuttering making things more awkward, "I-I came here to see the new p-pokemon."

"Oh…," he muttered, his eyebrows knitting together as he tried to remember anybody calling him about this issue in advance. He vaguely remembered a stern woman yelling at him over the telephone about something to do with her daughter. He nodded in understanding and set down the remaining books and papers he was carrying. "Well, let's have a look at them."

Charlotte nodded, though she remained cautious. She generally didn't talk to people she didn't know well simply because 'stranger danger' - she did not know what they were thinking about her, or what they were planning to do with her. She picked at a loose thread on her shorts, her hands shaking slightly.

The professor opened a panel on the side of the machine, tapping in a code using the keys. With a whir of hydraulic powered gear, the glass shield began to slide down. Charlotte's eyes lit up with pure glee as the professor removed the pokeballs, ready to display the pokemon within. He gestured to the girl with a nod of her head. She slowly approached the man, as if the pokeballs would disappear if she made too much noise.

"Now which one would you like to look at first?" smiled the Professor.

She pointed to a pokeball in his right hand, unsure which one to pick first as she knew that all three of them contained amazing pokemon. Upon pressing the button on the centre, a burst of red light erupted from the ball which quickly materialized into the form of a small Pokemon.

It tilted its head as it studied her with expressionless, ruby red eyes. A forest green leaf that was longer than its body sprouted from its head, shaking slightly from side to side. There was a necklace of buds around its neck which Charlotte assumed would blossom into flowers. A soothing aroma wafted from the Pokemon; calming her down.

"A chikorita," she recognised. It made happy little noises upon hearing its name, its eyes filling with kindness. Her fear quickly draining away, Charlotte gingerly reached out to pet it.

"Now for cyndaquil," smiled the Professor, releasing the Pokemon hiding within the second pokeball.

Charlotte's eyes were drawn from chikorita to a flash of bright red light and flames. This pokemon peered up at her with a mildly irritated expression, its eyes squinted closed. It had dark green fur with a creamy white underside, flames rising from four red spots on its back, flickering to and fro.

Charlotte, just like she had done with chikorita, reached out to pet it. However, this pokemon took it much differently. It began to growl the closer the girl's fingers got to it, prompting her to draw her hand away quickly, worried that it may try to hurt her.

"Don't mind him, he's just a little bad tempered," soothed Professor Elm, not wanting the pokemon to give the wrong impression.

"That's okay," replied Charlotte cheerily, scooting a couple meters away from the pokemon, "I bet he's just nervous."

Cyndaquil made a huffing sound, turning its fiery back to the girl and professor arrogantly. Chikorita just sighed, as if she had been dealing with the fire type her entire life.

"Now for the final pokemon, Totodile," concluded the Professor, pressing the button on the final pokeball.

In another burst of crimson light, the final starter pokemon materialized upon the table. This one merely glanced at Charlotte with his big blue eyes, sparkling with unshed tears. Upon realising that someone was watching, it wiped its tears away with its scaly paw. It was bigger than the other pokemon, standing at around two feet tall. It had blue, scaly skin with a thin patch of yellow scales across its belly. An array of red spikes trailed down its spine, its mouth lined with sharp fangs, one of which being larger than the others.

Charlotte's smile softened as she reached out to pet this pokemon, wondering why it was so sad. The pokemon tensed, unsure whether it should let this stranger touch him. It backed away from her a little in its hesitance. "Don't be sad," she muttered in an attempt to soothe it.

"We don't know why he's been so upset," said Professor Elm, scratching his scalp in confusion. "We've been treating him with the upmost care and love like all the other pokemon here."

Charlotte nodded, not in understanding, but to show that she heard him. She dropped her hand back to her side, unsure of what to do now. Her eyes glanced from pokemon to pokemon and she smiled at each one, pleased that she had been given the privilege to meet such rare pokemon.

Now she had to choose one. This pokemon would become her partner who she would nurture and care for with all her heart. It would defend her and offer her its company in return. She could barely believe that she was free to choose from any one of these pokemon – they were all great. Her brow furrowed as she tried to come to a decision.

"Take your time," said the professor. "Choose whichever one resonates with you the most."

She turned her attention towards totodile. She wasn't sure why she was so drawn to him but something about him evoked a feeling of unexplainable fondness and a desire to protect him. She stared at each pokemon, but every time her eyes seemed to wander back to the totodile. The water type gazed at her with mixed expressions of curiosity, wonder and fear as the girl's blue-grey eyes settled upon him.

"I…choose you," she muttered, almost under her breath. There was no helping it – she was completely biased. She wanted nothing more than to make him happy and take him out to see the world with her.

The Pokémon's eyes widened in surprise dumbfounded that he had been chosen as a partner on such an important journey. However, the shock was short-lived. His lips parted in the toothiest grin Charlotte had ever seen, his eyes squinted closed, cheeks dusted with pink. He had no idea who this girl was but that didn't matter – he'd finally be given the chance to battle.

"Alright you two," the professor interjected, the girl and pokemon turning their attention towards him. He held a tray out to her and she peered at it curiously, taking note of what was displayed. Five minimalized pokeballs, a pastel pink, brand new pokedex and a metallic badge case was present.

She picked up the pokeballs, tucking them into a compartment into her backpack. While she was putting away the badge case and inspecting her pokedex, the professor returned totodile to his pokeball and handed it to her. She clicked it into her belt.

She was hit with a wave of disbelief at the fact that she had a real, live pokemon strapped to her belt.

Awed, she switched on her pokedex. After a period of loading, a menu screen was displayed. From there, she could view her personal details and information about the pokemon she had seen so far. There was a separate section for the pokemon in her team. She could see a little totodile icon beside a bar of green, with the number 'five' beside it.

"This pokedex will serve as both your personal ID and the identification system necessary for storing information about seen and caught pokemon. It will track the strength of your pokemon through the Aptitude Recognition Scale, ARS."

Charlotte was beside herself with joy and gratitude as she bowed before the professor. "T-thank you for my pokemon and pokedex - I-I couldn't have a-asked for more," she stumbled, cheeks dusted pink.

He chuckled heartily in response. "Well, I suggest that it's high time you got going," he said.

Charlotte nodded as her gaze drifted towards the window. Gold was no longer standing there which meant he probably got bored of waiting and wandered off. Her nerves began to build up again. She was officially a trainer now, meaning that once she headed out onto the routes again, there was a high chance of her being asked to battle.

"Yeah…I guess so."

The electronic doors opened and closed, letting the young girl out. She sighed heavily, feeling a little dizzy and nauseous. As a trainer, many adventures lay in the future along with new dangers and struggles. She was downright terrified but she knew that there was absolutely no turning back now – she had to be strong.

She was distracted from her thoughts a sharp shake to her shoulders which prompted her head to loll back and forth. "S-stop!" she said, startled. Once she was released, she found that it was Gold who had disturbed her. He chuckled and bent down a little to her eye level.

"So which one did you choose?" he asked, eyeing off her belt with curiosity in his golden eyes. Charlotte grinned as she removed totodile's pokeball, a rush of joy and pride overtaking her as she eagerly let him out of the ball. In a burst of red light, the pokemon appeared at their feet.

The totodile glared up at the trainers with wide eyes, feet shuffling a little. He was about as clueless as Charlotte was in terms of how to deal with his new situation. He glanced rapidly between her and Gold, tapping his tail on the ground nervously.

"Totodile huh? I'm more of a cyndaquil kind of guy," he jested, gesturing to the typhlosion at his heels. Said pokemon was busy staring at totodile intensely, making him feel more uncomfortable. "But totodile's cool, don't get me wrong." Gold knelt down to the pokemon, placing a heavy hand on top of his head. "Nice to meet 'cha."

It was then that the pokemon was startled enough to bite down on his hand. Gold yelped in shock and pain, stumbling over backwards. He waved his arm up and down, trying his hardest to loosen the pokemon's grip on his hand. His typlosion was trying to help by tugging on the blue pokemon which only caused more pain for Gold. Charlotte was in a panic, fumbling with totodile's pokemon as she withdrew him.

"S-sorry I don't k-know what got into him," Charlotte apologised, reaching out to take Gold's hand and inspect it for wounds. He pulled away though, chuckling a little sheepishly.

"Nah, it's nothing. Didn't even break the skin," he chided. "He's got a strong jaw though – he was holding back. In time he'll get less freaked out around trainers, trust me."

Charlotte did trust him. She nodded as he got to his feet, dusting dirt of his clothes. He had offered her quite a few titbits of advice the first time they met, and during their consecutive video calls, all of which she had tried to take into consideration. Some of it, however, probably wasn't useful or entirely legal though.

"I hope so," she muttered. Gold placed a hand on her shoulder, prompting her to look up at him.

Gold opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted. "Struggling with baby pokemon Gold?"

They turned towards the sound of the voice, seeing that it was a red-headed boy around Gold's age who had spoken. His hands were stuffed into the pockets of his black and red lined jacket, his lips twisted into a menacing smirk. At his heels stomped a large feraligatr, one that glared just as sharply as his trainer did. Charlotte cowered behind Gold as he stepped forward. The flames on his tyhplosion's back flickered and flared stronger in defence.

"Me, a pokemon breeder, struggling with baby pokemon?" Gold snorted. "Really Silver?"

The boy stopped a few feet away from Gold, still smirking. "That wasn't your pokemon was it?" Charlotte simply gazed at him with wide, blue-grey eyes. She had never actually seen Silver in person, only on news programs and such. She had always found him intimidating, even on a screen.

The boy gave off a menacing aura, acting like he had the power to do whatever he wished with little effort. And that feraligatr looked like it could tear her to shreds. She was relieved that Fang was safe inside his pokeball – he probably would be just as scared as she was.

"Nope," replied Gold, ruffling Charlotte's carrot-orange hair. "It's my friend here's. She literally just got him." Silver's gaze turned to the girl, steely gaze boring straight through her. She shuddered.

"You better start disciplining him. Otherwise he'll never be strong," he advised. His feraligatr huffed in approval. "Weak trainers make for weak pokemon, remember that. And right now, you look pretty weak to me."

Gold rolled his eyes. He was used to this kind of thing from Silver. He was different from when he first met him: just that little bit kinder towards his pokemon and the people around him. But that didn't mean he'd completely changed. Charlotte simply nodded, unable to open her mouth to speak.

"Oh come on, Silver. Don't be an ass," defended Gold. "Anyway, what brings you back here? I thought you were done with this place."

"Professor Elm says he needs us to do something for him," Silver explained in a monotone, like he didn't care.

Gold seemed annoyed by this. "But I've done tons for him already. I filled up an entire pokedex and helped get rid of yet another Team Rocket infestation. What more could he want?" he complained, folding his arms behind his head.

"I have better things I need to be doing," said his rival, annoyance tinting his tone as well. "But apparently this is urgent and he needs 'the aid of the best trainers in Johto'."

"I thought he hated you for stealing that Totodile and being an all-round douchebag," said Gold, confused as to why Elm had suddenly become so forgiving after holding a grudge for so long.

Silver shrugged, though his hands tightened into fists. "Like I said, it must be pretty damn important if he needs us. I wouldn't have shown up here if it wasn't important." They glared at one another for a few moments. Charlotte didn't really understand what they were talking about or that look in their eyes. It was like they were having a conversation only they could understand.

"Fine, fine, I'm coming," groaned Gold finally, getting to his feet. He was pouting like a child. "I'll be back soon," he said to Charlotte. "You head over to Cherrygrove. I still got to tell you my story. Oh, and I got something to give you too." Charlotte nodded with a smile on her face at the promise of a present.

"O-okay! Bye!" she yelled after him, waving as she watched the rivals head off in the direction of the lab, their pokemon bickering behind them.

For a moment, Charlotte wondered if she'd end up with a rival like that.

The air smelt like it does in New Bark Town, but with an added fragrance of sweet flowers. Cherry blossom trees shook in the breeze, scattering pink petals all over the ground. The ocean was not far from them, the sound of waves relaxing Charlotte. She fiddled with a petal in her hands as Gold went on about his journey.

She had let totodile out again, cautiously. He was currently sitting beside her, eating some cherry blossom petals absentmindedly. His gaze was fixed on the ocean, as if he was mesmerised. Charlotte had scanned him with her newly acquired pokedex: he was level five, had the ability Torrent, and knew the moves scratch and leer.

She decided to name him Fang. Gold laughed at the name but totodile seemed pleased with it.

"…Then I lost but only just, it was down to one on one," concluded Gold, making a dramatic pose, "I would have won if the wind wasn't blowing so much at that moment. But get this, after our battle? The guy totally disappeared like a ghost or something." He finished speaking, an arrogant grin on his face. He loved boasting about his adventure with his pokemon, especially to those that were easily impressed.

Charlotte began to clap enthusiastically, having been listening to him the whole time with an excited smile, and reacting to everything he said. A light tint of pink spread over Gold's cheeks, his grin becoming goofy as he greedily took her praise to heart.

"So, what do you think about trainers now?" he asked. He knew she still was very hesitant towards the concept due to her dreams of being a ranger, and her beliefs surrounding that.

Charlotte thought for a moment. It sounded like trainers did amazing things, sure, but that didn't mean she was any more inclined to fully embrace it. From what she had seen on television, there were more bad trainers than there were rangers. She didn't want to let Gold down but she was just not completely comfortable with pitting her beloved pokemon against others.

"They're okay…I-I guess. As long as they're good people and take care of their pokemon," she replied quietly, focusing on Fang. He was busy trying to scratch an itch on his back with his stubby arms. Slowly, she reached out to do it for him. He flinched but allowed her to touch him anyway.

Gold nodded approvingly. "I feel the same way. What's the point in being a trainer if all you're going to do is treat your pokemon like shit." Charlotte snapped her head towards him like she had just been zapped by an electric pokemon.

"…treat pokemon like _garbage_ , I mean," he corrected with a chuckle.

Charlotte hummed in compliance, feeling rather weary all of a sudden. It was only midday and she was already tired from all the walking and excitement. She would sleep well tonight. The thought of her having to take on the monks that afternoon was enough to keep her awake. She stared at Fang, hoping that the grass types would go easy on him with his typing and all.

Charlotte thought hard about life with a pokemon, all the doors that were now being held open to her. She could walk around in tall grass without getting hurt by wild pokemon, she could sail the seas, climb mountains, touch the clouds, make her mother proud; so many things. But no matter what fantasies she conjured, they remained only that, fantasies, something that would never happen. Without realising it, she began to go on about all these desires to Gold.

"Then when Fang gets big we can cross whirlpool islands and…," she trailed off, trying to think of other things they could do together, having listed off many, many suggestions to her friend, wondering what he would think of them. He tried his best to listen but his mind had a habit of drifting elsewhere when he was bored.

"Gold, have you ever done stuff like that?" she asked out of the blue, innocent eyes gazing into his. He felt as though he was obligated to answer, say something that would encourage her to put up with being a trainer for as long as possible.

"Yeah…I've done all of that for sure," he said with a cocky grin, ruffling her already messy hair once more, "And maybe you can too…probably not as awesomely as me though."

"I hope I can, that would be cool," she smiled, lying on her back and gazing at the cloudless sky. As she did so, she absentmindedly stroked Fang's back, the young pokemon making clicking sounds that were similar to a Meowth's purr but with more pitch to it. He was more relaxed now but Charlotte could tell that his muscles were still tensed. Fang didn't trust her yet – they had only just met. "Don't you think so Fang?" The water type nodded, though his mind was elsewhere.

"Oh yeah!" shouted Gold suddenly, startling Charlotte and Fang. "I've got a present for you."

Curious, Charlotte perked up like a growlithe being offered a treat. Fang also seemed interested, though he was less curious.

"Close your eyes and hold out your hands," the boy said mischievously, rummaging around in his backpack in search of the gift he had procured for his friend.

Charlotte frowned, wanting to see her present straight away. Nonetheless, she closed her eyes and held her hands out, holding her breath in anticipation, curiosity bubbling within her. She waited for what felt like forever until the golden eyed boy set a glass case into her outstretched hands. It was heavy enough that she almost dropped it.

"Surprise!" he cheered. Charlotte's eyes flew open as soon as the words left his lips. She gasped in astonishment upon seeing the contents of the glass case: a delicate egg sat upon a violet cushion, speckled with triangles of various colours and shades. The young girl's heart skipped a beat once she realised that this was hers to keep.

Fang's clawed hands pressed against the glass as he gazed intently at the fragile object within. She had just received her first pokemon not long ago and already she had received another? She felt like she was about to pass out with astonishment.

"A-are y-you sure I can h-have it?" she stuttered through her excitement.

"Yeah, duh, why would I give it to you otherwise, dummy?" he chuckled, drooping his arm around her shoulder in a strange one sided hug. "Plus, I have plenty of eggs just like that one back home," he added, a look on his face Charlotte couldn't read. Long story short, Gold had recently taken in a female togetic which was very popular with males.

"Hey Charlotte," said Gold. His voice was distant and wistful, a tone she had never heard him take before. She turned her full attention towards him. He locked gazes with her. "You enjoy this adventure okay? You got to have fun or else it's just not worth it. Do what you want and don't let anyone hold you back. Live a life with no regrets."

She looked at him like he was the wisest boy on the face of the planet, prompting him to laugh. "Heh, heh, or something like that. I thought you deserved a kind of inspirational speech before you get going."

Charlotte giggled. "Thank you Gold, for everything." He had really helped streamline this whole 'becoming a trainer' process.

"Oh come on, don't get sappy with me!" he pouted and folded his arms in a lame attempt to look displeased. "This meant to be a beginning not an end!"

Without warning, Charlotte brought him into a hug, blushing as she wrapped her arms around his chest. He hesitated for a moment before embracing her. He was a little surprised to find how tense Charlotte was – she must be really nervous. He didn't blame her; she wasn't nearly as brave as he was.

"Geez," he muttered as they broke apart.

"Oh…I guess it's time to head back," Charlotte said, breaking away from her friend. Embarrassed by the hug, she avoided eye contact. She still had to take on Sprout Tower, as much as she didn't want to force her little partner pokemon into battling so soon. Alas, that was the fate of a trainer's pokemon.

"Sorry Fang but…I guess our first battle's going to be a little sooner than it should be," Charlotte apologised in advance. She had expected the young pokemon to get a little upset or worried but, to her surprise, a cocky grin drew up the corners of his mouth, as if he had been waiting for those words all his life.

Her heart fell as she returned him to his pokeball and tucked the pokemon egg into her rucksack. She got up out of the flowers, dusting dirt and petals off of her, before saying her goodbyes to Gold.

"I'll see you around Johto, Charlotte," he beamed, waving her off. She returned his wave as she ventured in the direction of Violet City. Adrenalin and anxiety pounded through her veins at the thought of the battles that were to come. She couldn't help but think of the worst.


	3. Unwanted Battles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before she leaves her home town, Charlotte practices her skill in battle on the monks of Sprout Tower.

**Chapter Three: Unwanted Battles**

By mid-afternoon Charlotte had returned to Violet City, tuning into the bustling sounds and voices of trainers and travellers who were now well into their day. She had taken special care to avoid both tall grass and trainers this time but she knew she couldn't avoid it forever – Fang would need to grow stronger in order to face off against gym leaders.

She didn't want to think about gym leaders yet, especially not the gym leader of her own city. Long story short, his family doesn't get along well with her mother and as such he wouldn't go easy on her. Her mother never told her much about the incident but apparently there was 'foul play' involved.

Sending Fang out, she set her eyes on the tower poking out amongst the trees and houses. The pokemon barely recognised her as being there – he was overjoyed to be outside and in a brand new place with new sights, smells and tastes. He would have scurried off if he hadn't noticed his trainer.

Charlotte's sneakers clunked against the dark violet, wooden bridge, following by the tap of Fang's clawed feet. Her eyes skimmed over the watery pond as a politoad splashed past, wandering up the ancient pagoda before her. Her partner did the same, mouth agape as he leaned right back, unable to see the top due to his short stature.

The lanterns hanging from the eaves of the wooden pagoda emitted a vague glow that was easily missed in the midday sun. Roof tiles were missing here and there but all in all, the pagoda was well cared for, even after all the years it had been left standing. The people of this city really tried their best to keep the city's rustic façade.

Charlotte stopped in her tracks, as if caught by an invisible force. There was no way she could do this; it was too soon and too hard. She hovered around the entrance of the pagoda, worries streaming through her mind.

Fang thought that all trainers would leap at the chance to battle. Apparently he was taught wrong. He began to get a little impatient, wanting to participate in his first battle as soon as possible. He began to inch closer and closer to the entrance to the pagoda.

Ultimately Fang simply ignored his trainer and headed into the pagoda without her. Charlotte noticed soon after he did so, panicking even more. She called his name as she hurried inside after him, berating herself for not paying attention to her newly acquired pokemon.

Wooden bellsprout statues were situated on each side of the entrance. Bald monks dressed in long, deep violet and white robes bustled about, going about their daily business. A tourist or two milled around, taking photos of the pillar in the centre of the room. Fang was instantly drawn to the pillar's hypnotic, swaying movements. The entire pagoda seemed to creak and groan with each sway, as if about to collapse. Yet it stayed strong.

Charlotte was less awed by the interior of the tower than her pokemon as she had visited it many times before. However, the swaying pillar always entranced her and it was a good thing it did as she soon spotted Fang near it. The girl wandered to his side, relieved that she had caught up with him. Side by side, they stared upwards at the pillar, utterly enthralled. As such, they failed to notice one of the monks approaching them from behind.

"That pillar was once a hundred foot long bellsprout," he spoke, startling them.

Charlotte nearly jumped out of her skin as she whipped around. Fang emitted a short growl and bared his fangs as his eyes locked on the monk. The man held his hands up in innocence, apologising for startling them. Charlotte sighed in relief upon realising that he was not a ninja about to attack her. Fang closed his jaw and gazed blankly at the monk, admiring how shiny his head was.

"Have you two come here to challenge my brothers on the upper floors?" he asked, tucking his hands into his sleeves, a gentle smile on his lips.

Charlotte stared down at her feet, feeling nervous once more. "Yes…I guess s-so," she muttered.

"You must be a new trainer," chuckled the monk. "Don't worry; they will have mercy on you."

Charlotte sighed in relief again; glad that she wouldn't be having any epic, hardcore battles right away. Feeling a little reassured, she straightened up and smiled sheepishly. "I j-just got my s-starter a few hours ago." Her totodile nodded vaguely in confirmation.

"Oh dear," chuckled the monk again, "Well, most of my brothers are training right now but I'm sure a few of them will be willing to have a battle with you and your partner. Don't worry, you shouldn't have to fight too many."

"Thank you," said Charlotte, feeling a little less nervous after hearing the monk's kind words.

After another 'Fang biting things he shouldn't' moment, the monk led the girl and her pokemon towards a ladder, clutching his bite-mark ridden scalp. An occasional shout could be heard from upstairs. Shakily, she began to climb up the ladder with her totodile hitching a ride on her rucksack.

Upon reaching the second floor, she studied her new surroundings with butterfree fluttering in her stomach. Fang hovered around her legs, eyes wide with excitement. Monks were busy battling, calling out attack names for their nearly identical Bellsprout. The loud noises from their attacks echoed around the room. Despite the pokemon's small size and goofy appearance, these ones were clearly formidable. The look in their eyes matched that of their trainers, determined and utterly committed to their training.

Charlotte shuddered nervously as she watched them, feeling awkward, like she wasn't meant to be there. Scenarios ran through her head, the majority of them being situations in which she embarrassed herself or lost the fight and her pokemon were badly injured. What if her mother got angry at her for losing? How does one go about battling anyway? She was terrified. Fang harboured no such thoughts, he was entirely enthralled by the training bellsprout, admiring their strength.

She took a deep breath and rummaged around in her bag for the notebook she had brought with her, along with her pokedex. Sitting down, she flipped through the book for the information about battling. Upon finding it, she read it over a few times before checking Fang's moves. She didn't have much to work with considering their lack of experience. Nevertheless, reading over her mother's words comforted her.

Her totodile was beginning to yearn to battle one of those powerful bellsprout. He knew that after a quick lashing from its roots, he would be out cold due to his weakness. That didn't matter to him – the more thrilling the battle, the better.

Sighing expansively, Charlotte called to Fang as she began slowly approach a monk. He was sitting with his back to the wall, feeding his Bellsprout some pokemon food. They seemed to be close – who knows how many years they had been training together. She didn't want to disturb him but she knew she must and she was getting tired of being so nervous.

The monk looked up at her once he noticed her standing before him. Her gaze was focused on the swaying pillar as she asked him, "C-can I battle with you?"

The monk smiled at the shy girl and nodded in agreement. "Sure, there is no need to be nervous," he said reassuringly. "I'll go easy on you," he added upon seeing the water starter pokemon at her side. Fang frowned at this – he didn't want to be given any mercy he could take them for sure.

The monk assumed that this was the girl's first battle together and guided her through the set up. He told her to stand a few metres back from him so that there was plenty of room to fight and allowed her to have the first move. Charlotte knew about all this but his babying was reassuring.

Charlotte's heart beat rapidly in her chest, pumping fear and adrenalin through her veins as she watched her pokemon step out before her, preparing to battle. The young pokemon was filled with excitement and anticipation, eager to see where this battle was going to end up. His tail was wagging as he resisted the urge to leap straight into battle.

"Okay," Charlotte muttered under her breath. "I should start with a status weakening move."

"F-Fang use leer," she said meekly. Fang didn't need to be told twice. Promptly, he turned to his opponent, a spritely bellsprout, his eyes locking with the grass type in a glare. His lips pulled back, revealing sharp, pearly white fangs, a low growl gurgling at the back of his throat. Bellsprout seemed intimidated by Fang's cold glare, shuddering and back away from him a little.

"Relax bellsprout and use vine whip," called the monk calmly – he had done this a thousand times. Bellsprout crawled forward on its roots, languidly lashing its leaves at Fang's scaly skin. He winced and recoiled in pain, teeth gritted. Excitement still glittered in his eyes – he was determined to win this first battle.

"Okay, um, use scratch," she called. She didn't really know if she was doing things right but she figured that because bellsprout had been frightened by leer, he wouldn't be able to defend himself as well.

Fang leapt forward, grinning wildly as he struck the bellsprout, slashing at its face with his clawed hands, leaving stinging scratches before jumping back to the space in front of his trainer. He struck before the frightened pokemon could react and, just like Charlotte had predicted, it did more damage than normal.

"Good move, that's the way it's done," encouraged the monk. "But in a serious battle, the opposing pokemon will not wait until the other has finished its move. In fact, many of your opponents will be very crafty with their attacks in order to outsmart you."

Charlotte absorbed his advice with a nod, her attention trained onto the bellsprout as she awaited its attack. Fang did the same, his lips curled with an arrogant smirk after having delivered his move so successfully.

"Bellsprout, plant your roots in between the floor boards," he commanded, his pokemon responding immediately by extending its gnarled roots between the floorboards beneath it. Charlotte, confused, did nothing but watch. Fang remained on edge, glancing about him in case of a surprise attack.

"Do it." Suddenly, roots curled around Fang's heels, prompting him to flap his arms desperately in order to stay balanced. Before he could do anything to free himself, vines slashed at his skin, making him growl in pain once more, painful red marks appearing in the places he was hit. Not only that, but the vines absorbed some of the moisture from his skin which was crucial in maintaining his strength. Fang staggered backwards, his previous arrogance disappearing from his mind entirely as he tried to stay composed.

"A-are you okay Fang?" Charlotte asked him fearfully, worried that the bellsprout had seriously hurt him. Even though it was not her getting hurt physically, it hurt her emotionally to see the pokemon she had chosen as her partner being wounded. This was precisely the reason she was so against becoming a trainer.

Fang gazed up at his trainer, determination in his eyes. He used his claws to cut away the roots, freeing himself. Judging from bellsprout's flinching, the action hurt it a little. Charlotte noticed this, hoping that she wasn't hurting it too much. "Scratch," she commanded, hoping that this would be the last attack she would have to land on the other pokemon.

Fang leapt forward, slashing his claws against Bellsprout once more. This time, the plant pokemon was not so resilient, tumbling to the ground in a heap of vines and leaves. For a moment, Charlotte wasn't sure what had just happened but she quickly realised, with a big, relieved smile that she had won her first battle. Fang turned to her, the same look on his face.

"We won!" the girl cheered. Fang poked his tongue out at the fainted bellsprout as it was withdrawn into its pokeball. Charlotte was relieved that the battle had not been the calamity she had worried it would be. "Uh…is your pokemon okay?" she asked, concerned for the health of the pokemon Fang had just beaten up.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine," he comforted. Totodile hadn't hurt it enough for things to be serious. "Congratulations, you two," he clapped, proud of her. The last time he had seen her was when she was a little girl who rarely strayed from the door of the pagoda out of shyness. She had come so far.

Charlotte's nerves had disappeared, but her shyness remained, her eyes turning to the floor as she recovered from her victory. Fang quietened down immediately, though the exhilaration of battle lingered.

"But I'm going to warn you in advance, the higher you climb the more powerful my brothers and their bellsprout become. They will not go as easily on you as I did," warned the monk as he handed her a few coins of prize money. Charlotte was hesitant in accepting the money but the monk insisted, telling her that it was simply a common practice among trainers.

Charlotte thanked the monk for the battle, bowing slightly, before walking away, wondering if she should go for another battle or not. Most of the monks were training so fortunately, there were only two other monks in the room she could battle if she so wished. She didn't have any medicine for Fang with her, a very concerning fact, so she knew she would have to be careful if she were to continue.

She decided to consult her pokemon on the matter. "Should we keep going?" she asked him. He returned her stare with an excited gleam in his big blue eyes, nodding his head rapidly.

Charlotte took a deep breath, sighing heavily.

And so, the girl and her pokemon struggled through the following battles, learning things they never would have learnt in school. Charlotte learnt about critical hits, dodging and learnt that using leer and scratch in sequence was actually rather effective.

Things were immensely difficult and as Charlotte progressed through the various monks, she began to get more and more concerned about Fang's health. Upon facing her fourth opponent, Fang learnt water gun which came as a shock to the new trainer at first. Unfortunately, the move was completely useless on grass type pokemon; they absorbed it straight through their skin.

Charlotte found herself battling a monk significantly stronger than the others once she progressed to the second floor.

Fang was rather worn out by that point, his skin dry and sore after being attacked so many times by vine whip. Nevertheless, he was eager to take on his next opponent, thoroughly enjoying his experience. Charlotte on the other hand, was very worried about Fang's condition and had wanted to turn back, but he had progressed without her consent.

However, she was beginning to get into the role of a trainer, not minding battling so much. She called out moves; her pokemon followed them and won against the opposing pokemon, the both of them getting stronger in the process. It gave a sense of accomplishment and pride after each victory for both pokemon and trainer. Not only was that but the battle itself was invigorating and exciting, unpredictability never failing to make the battle more interesting.

The opposing monk sent out a Bellsprout, just like every other monk Charlotte had challenged so far. Fang trotted in front of his trainer, finding that he was a lot slower and wearier than he was earlier. Despite his waning strength, he grinned maliciously at his opponent, preparing to use leer.

However, before Charlotte could give her Totodile commands, the monk called, "Bellsprout, use growth."

The pair watched confusedly as Bellsprout used a move they did not recognise. The plant Pokémon's spritely body began to glow a bright, forest green as it grew in size. Once the light began to fade, Charlotte understood what the move's effect was - increasing the Pokémon's strength. The bellsprout was now an inch taller than it normally was, making Charlotte wince at the thought of how much its vine whip would sting.

"Leer," Charlotte commanded, hoping that they would be able to get a move in before Bellsprout did.

Fang growled ferociously at his opponent, raising his claws and narrowing his eyes in a menacing glare. This Bellsprout appeared to be less cowardly than the others; only showing a flicker of fear in its eyes.

"Now for scratch," said Charlotte, repeating the move sequence that they had been successfully using thus far.

Fang sprung forth, if not a bit sluggishly, claws raised in preparation. But before he could strike, the monk yelled sharply, "Vine whip." Charlotte's heart stopped for a split second as she frantically called out to her young Totodile to dodge but alas, he heard her too late.

She flinched as Bellsprout's strengthened vines slammed upon Fang's skull, shoving his face into the floor boards. In doing so, he managed to puncture his tongue with one of his many fangs, blood leaking from his mouth. He swayed dangerously as he stood up, trying his best to make it back to his trainer without collapsing. He promptly fainted at Charlotte's feet. Her eyes went wide with fear and shock.

Tears stung her eyes as she took the injured pokemon into her arms. This is exactly what she had feared. She had let him end up like this, having been too naïve to bring healing items with her and was unaware of his limits. She began to shudder upon seeing the blood in his mouth, her heart beating as rapidly as a torchic on meds.

"Don't blame yourself," said the victorious monk, returning his Bellsprout to its pokeball with a flash of red light. "The young one was not ready to challenge a grass type pokemon stronger than itself. I suggest you catch some pokemon that would cover your Totodile's weaknesses."

Charlotte barely heard him; she was too busy panicking over what to do next. The carrot haired girl got to her feet, cradling Fang gently. She knew that she must take him to the pokemon center, where they would be able to heal him up to full health. She bowed quickly before running off towards the ladder, tears dripping from her eyes, feeling critical of her foolishness.


	4. First Catch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlotte catches her first pokemon who is more than a little difficult to handle.

**Chapter Four: First catch**

Later, Charlotte found herself at the pokemon center, waiting for the nurse to hand her partner back to her. An assortment of trainers bustled about her, though she paid no mind to them. She saw the pokemon center in a whole new light now. It wasn't just a place for her to play and meet new pokemon, it was a place where trainers could rest and restore their injured friends. She sipped at her lemonade, swinging her legs back and forth absentmindedly, trying not to think about anything in particular. She just revelled in her emotions.

Soon enough, her name was called, making her perk up in the direction of the counter. Tossing her empty can of lemonade in the trash, she scurried to the front desk, concern written on her fair features.

"Is Fang okay?" she gushed. The nurse almost giggled at the concerned reaction. She knew Charlotte well, as she had been working at the Pokemon Center long before her birth. She knew as well as anyone in Violet City that the girl wanted nothing more than to become a pokemon ranger and work with pokemon so to see her with a starter pokemon, taking it to be healed up after a battle, was rather shocking.

"Don't worry dear, he's perfectly fine," she replied sweetly. "He just needed some rest, a lot of water and a lollypop. All that blood you saw? He just bit his tongue. Chansey will bring him right out momentarily."

"T-thank goodness," she sighed heavily, relief washing over her. The nurse giggled at her overreaction, expecting as much.

"Never expected you to head down the path of trainers, Charlie," she noted languidly, "Why?"

Charlotte almost missed the woman's words, too distracted by the immense relief at knowing her partner was okay. She took a few moments to string her words together. "M-mum said I can't be a ranger until I-I challenge the Johto League," she explained.

The nurse shook her head in dismay. It was just like Janette to force her daughter to follow in her footsteps. She had to admit; she felt a little bad for her, considering that she was as timid as a rattata and would probably faint if she encountered pokemon even a quarter of the strength of the ones the old nurse had seen.

A cheery call from a chubby chansey distracted the pair from their conversation as the pokemon rolled a metal trolley towards Charlotte, a sleepy looking Totodile sitting upon it.

"Fang," smiled Charlotte. The Totodile blinked in confusion before remembering that was his name. He tilted his head towards his trainer and grinned, a large lollipop in his jaws. Absolutely relieved to see him, she leaned over and scooped him up from the tray, holding him gently in her arms. He tensed up for a moment, hesitantly resting his muscles again upon seeing the kind look in the girl's blue grey eyes.

Upon glancing outside, Charlotte almost jumped at how late it was. The sky was painted with pastel purple and orange, the clouds a peachy pink, illuminated by the rapidly setting sun. She had to be going – she couldn't stay in Violet City forever. But she would have to spend the night in the centre – there was no way she was going out this late.

"Thank you," she said softly. The nurse simply smiled and wished her luck.

She couldn't hold back more tears as she walked past many of the people she had grown to know and love over the years, waving them goodbye as she neared the southern exit of the town, the one closest to home. The children from her class at school chattered with her and fussed over her all the way to the lantern lined exit, the girl trying her best to say her goodbyes while explaining what had happened over the last couple of days.

She saw her mother on the way to the edge of town. All she did was nod and wave, disappointment thrilling through Charlotte – she had wanted just one last hug.

Taking a deep breath she stepped beyond the well-known path of Violet City, finally entering route 32. With her partner at her heels and a mysterious egg in her arms; she had begun her journey. A future of adventure lay before her and, despite the bittersweet emotions swirling within her, she was confronted with a single question; _what do I do now_?

She studied the route, eyes wide and glittering excitement as the scent of grass, earth and the salty ocean reached her. Towering trees were packed so tightly together in places that it was impassable. A hard dirt road wound its way between the trees. Long grass grew in fields that teamed with pokemon. Hunks of rock towered over Charlotte, obscuring the rest of the route from her view. She could only see a couple people apart from herself, considering how early it was.

She wandered a little further along, mixed emotions surging through her; fear, excitement, sadness, all swirling into to each other to create simple confusion. Fang was just as clueless as his trainer as he had never strayed far from a laboratory environment before. Charlotte gazed skywards for a moment, an idea leaping into her head.

She remembered that there were five things that trainers usually did; catch pokemon, train and bond with them, participate in battles, take part in contests and explore. These principles had been drilled into her head throughout her childhood by both her mother and her schooling.

She was strictly told to take on the Johto League so she guessed she wouldn't be permitted to do contests – which she certainly preferred to do over battling. Just the thought of Fang fainting again made her wince. So she was left with two options, catch a new pokemon or train and bond with Fang.

"Alright," she said cheerily, finally deciding on an option and perking herself up. "We're going to need some more help if we're going to take on a gym so…let's go make some new friends!"

Fang tilted his head in curiosity, clearly not as enthusiastic as his trainer. He was not keen about being around more unfamiliar pokemon and people. But with the promise of having to battle other pokemon, he went along with it.

Charlotte turned to a nearby patch of grass, shuddering upon realising as soon as she walked in there, she could be attacked by hordes of rattata and ekans. A glance at her partner reassured her as she knew he would be able to defend her if need be. She took a deep breath, feeling excited about doing something she was forbidden to do in years previous. Promptly, she dived into the swaying grass, followed by her Totodile.

She crawled on her hands and knees, the grass rising a few inches above her head. She paid no mind to the dirt that was accumulating on her hands and knees. Keeping an eye out for pokemon, she turned over each rock and investigated every rustle of the grass that was not made by her.

She spent the majority of the day simply searching for new pokemon. Many seemed to simply hide from her, or she didn't want that particular pokemon, making her search a little hard. She didn't encounter pokemon that often which was disappointing. But part of her was a little relieved that she wasn't frightened by any sudden attacks.

She stepped up onto a boulder, with a little difficulty, so that she would be able to see a little further. The sun was low in the sky now, indicating just how long her search had lasted. She desperately wished to find a good pokemon before sunset.

Upon scanning her surroundings, she spotted a nearby berry patch. As pokemon loved berries and for many, it was their staple diet, a few pokemon could be seen fighting over the delectable food. Charlotte perked up and hopped off the boulder, dashing towards the berry patch with Totodile in tow. Maybe she could catch these pokemon? If not, she could at least break up their fight.

As she ran she managed to take a minimalized pokeball out of her pokeball, clumsily enlarging it. As she neared the patch, she identified the pokemon as a rattata and an aipom, squabbling over the final few berries on the tree. Aipom were rare as far as she knew as she had only caught glimpses on them on television before. She had always been fond of them, their fluffy purple fur, their cheeky smile and that hand-like tail always made her smile.

She reluctantly burst into the berry patch, both pokemon turning to look at her with apprehension, though Charlotte completely missed this detail. "Fang, use water gun on the aipom," she commanded, pointing at the furry, long tailed pokemon. But before he got the chance, a bolt of lightning erupted from a nearby patch of grass, zapping the purple pokemon. It screamed as it headed for the hills, both in pain and fear. Charlotte could only watch, her mouth fluttering open and closed like a magikarp out of water, as the aipom propelled itself through the trees swiftly with its hand-like tail.

She sighed heavily, disappointment bubbling within her at her failure. She looked down at Fang who didn't seem bothered at all by the loss, simply nibbling on a stick he had picked up. She hadn't expected that catching pokemon would be so difficult.

The rustling in the bushes distracted her from her self-pity, drawing her to a fluffy yellow pokemon emerging from the tall grass ahead of them. Judging from where it came from, it was the pokemon that had electrocuted the aipom and rattata. Charlotte identified it as a mareep, watching carefully as it cautiously approached the remaining berries.

She sniffed at them with her button nose, assuring that the berries were not laced with poison before she delicately began to nibble at one. Fang watched her with confusion. He could see the look in her eyes, the starved look that told him that she hadn't eaten for some time yet she was chowing down with such elegance? The little totodile tilted his head towards his trainer who was busy readying another empty pokeball.

She stared at the fluffy pokemon with a look of adoration. Aipom was cute, sure, but this other pokemon was just as cute – and it was an electric type too which should prove useful. She was about to call an attack when she accidently moved her foot, the hungry mareep glancing in her direction.

The pokemon's creamy fleece began to spark with electricity as it growled at the onlookers. This was her food now so if anyone was going to try and take it, they were going to be zapped into tomorrow. Fang, despite his weakness to electricity, growled and stepped out in from of his trainer who held her arms up in innocence, telling Fang to stay away.

"S-sorry!" she apologised, backing away from the furious pokemon. Fang, however, had other ideas. He took a deep breath and fired his best water gun at the sheep pokemon, prompting it to squeal in shock as it took the full brunt of the attack. Charlotte winced – Fang's attack only seemed to make it angrier. Electricity sparkling in its fleece, Fang pounced on it just as it released a thunder wave, paralysing the totodile instantly.

Charlotte covered her mouth with her hands as she stared in shock. Fang was now dead weight on top of mareep, trapping it beneath it. It brayed angrily, more sparks of electricity flying from it, though there was nothing it could do to get Fang off until he regained control of his body. Charlotte was relieved that she had packed an anti-paralytic potion and managed to calm down somewhat with that knowledge. Shaking, she decided the best way to solve this situation was to catch mareep while it was trapped.

She steadied herself as best she could as she aimed her throw at the nearby pokemon, putting all her courage into it. The pokeball hit its mark, mareep disappearing within the ball. Fang, still paralysed, fell on top of the pokeball, shaking back and forth slightly as mareep continued trying to escape. Alas, its efforts were in vain – the pull of the pokeball combined with Fang's weight was enough to seal it inside with a click.

Standing around in dull astonishment for a few moments, Charlotte came to terms with the fact that she had just caught a pokemon for the first time. With a rush of excitement, she jumped up and down on the spot, thanking Fang for his reckless but useful attacks. She then remembered he was still paralysed and set to work remedying that right away.

Taking pity on her starter pokemon, she returned him to his pokeball for a rest. Straightening her back and gazing at the sky, she noted that the last of the day's light was fading on the horizon, prompting her heart to drop into her stomach. She needed to get somewhere safe before it was dark – the night-time pokemon were often more dangerous than those of the day.

Luckily, she remembered that there was another town not far up ahead that her mother used to take her to sometimes. She should be able to safely stay the night there. Tripping over a little, she broke out into a brisk jog, hoping that she could get there before the light disappeared.

Charlotte made it to the small town of Bloomingvale just before the sun disappeared behind the horizon. By the time she made it to the pokemon centre, she had almost collapsed from exhaustion, her lungs burning with her efforts. She could tell that it was town curfew now – everyone was turning in for the night. At the front desk, Charlotte handed in Fang's pokeball, almost forgetting about her newly acquired mareep. She passed her new pokeball over to the nurse, smiling proudly.

Once she got her pokemon back, freshly healed, she booked out a room and found her way to it, if not a little anxiously. This was her second time staying overnight at a pokemon centre, without the protection of her mother and her legion of powerful pokemon. Again, she took respite in knowing that she now had two of her own pokemon with her for safety.

She unlocked the door of her room with the key card she had been given and dumped her bag on the single bed in the corner of the quaint room. She slumped onto the bed, staring up at the roof with an expansive sigh. She would need to shower and eat before bed but she really wasn't feeling up to doing anything other than laying still.

After a few minutes of staring blankly at the roof, she decided to take mareep out of its pokeball and check it out with her pokedex. This way she could find out more about it and come up with a nickname. She figured she would send out Fang too so they could be properly introduced.

She sat cross-legged on the bed. "Come on out," she giggled as she simultaneously released the pokemon from their pokeballs. Fang clicked at the back of his throat in half-hearted greeting before laying his big blue eyes on the mareep. He narrowed his eyes and raised his claws. Mareep's fur began to cackle again, displeasure written on its features.

"Wait, you are team mates now, stop," Charlotte gushed as she waved her hands to catch their attention. Mareep glared coldly at her but lay its guard down somewhat. Fang did the same, though he simply stared at Charlotte with vague disappointment. Taking the chance to get out her pokedex, Charlotte spent a few moments figuring out how to scan mareep.

Apparently, it was female and had an ARS level of six. She also had the ability 'static' which explains her gifts with the art of paralysis. She knew the moves growl, tackle and thunderwave. The pokemon continued to glare as intensely as she could muster – she was still holding a grudge against her for being contained. Charlotte thought for a few moments, staring intently at the sheep pokemon, wracking her brain for nicknames.

"I'll name you Static," she chirped triumphantly. She wasn't the best at nicknames. The newly dubbed mareep scowled deeper in disgust at the lack lustre name, turning her back to Charlotte in defiance. Fang seemed displeased by this – a name was a name, she should be proud to have one now. Charlotte seemed a little offended. Tension settled in the room.

"Oh dear…," she sighed. "The people on television befriended pokemon so easily…"

The awkward silence was broken by a loud gurgle in Static's stomach, prompting her to blush profusely. Charlotte chuckled uneasily as Fang's stomach gurgled too. "I guess we can make up over food?" The mareep turned slightly to her and nodded slightly, though she had no real intention of forgiving her.

Charlotte and her pokemon reached the cafeteria right in the middle of dinner time. Static ate her large dinner as vainly as she could muster on such an empty stomach. Fang however, dug in like he had never eaten before. Charlotte paid more mind to them than her own food. For whatever reason, she wasn't feeling very hungry.

After eating, Charlotte offered her pokemon a bath as she needed to take one too. Fang leapt at the idea but Static ruffled her wool and trotted off back in the direction of their room. Charlotte then remembered that electric types and water don't mix and nodded in understanding.

Now fed and cleaned, the girl and her pokemon settled down for the night. Static curled up on the other side of the room as far away from Charlotte and Fang as possible. Fang took his place at the end of his trainer's bed. She felt a little upset that her pokemon didn't want to sleep with her but she was too tired to deal with it at the time. Instead, she took out her pokegear from her bag and dialled her dad's number. She hoped he would pick up – she needed to tell him about all this.

She tensed as waited for the line to connect. She puffed a sigh of relief once it did.

"Charlotte!" called a gruff voice from the other end. "How are you? Are things alright? How's your mother?" As always, he asked numerous questions in a gush. Charlotte giggled and rested her head onto the pillow. She was relieved to hear his voice – it had been too long.

"Mum and I are fine," she replied. She could hear the sounds of machinery in the background. She stared at a crack in the roof absentmindedly. She could barely it see it through the dark.

"Oh good," he said, relieved. "Have you started on your journey yet? Janette mentioned something about you getting a starter pokemon this month, last time we spoke." The metallic sounds grew louder for a moment, and static filled the line, until it dropped off suddenly.

"Yeah I've got two pokemon now," she said excitedly. "A totodile and a mareep I caught a couple hours ago." Her tone died down though once she remembered her battle. She didn't really want to tell her father about her failure. She knew he would just wish her good luck for next time but still.

"How're you handling the life of a trainer? I know you wanted to be a ranger but…your mother is just…," he paused for an agonizing moment, "…your mother. If I could send the funds for your ranger education all the way to Johto, I would. I would do anything to get you there."

"I'm doing okay so far," Charlotte said, skipping the details. "It's a little difficult but, yeah. And thanks dad." Her gaze had drifted to Static's gently rising and falling form in the corner. She hadn't anticipated that speaking with her father would be this awkward. It made her a little sad.

"Anything you want to talk about, Charlie?"

"Uh…not really," she muttered. "I'd like to sleep now, actually." She didn't want to stop talking with him, but she simply didn't know what to talk about.

"Oh…well I'll talk to you again soon," he said. "Feel free to tell me anything, you know?"

"Of course dad," she smiled wistfully.

"Goodnight, sweetie," he said just as the mechanical noises began again. He hung up and Charlotte returned the pokegear to her bag.

She rolled onto her back, staring at the white-washed roof. Slowly, she closed her eyes, listening to the quiet breaths of her pokemon. She was unnerved by the fact that her mother wasn't a room away, but at least she had her pokemon with her – pokemon that didn't seem to like her much yet. She drew her blankets up to her chin and forced those thoughts away – she had a full day of exploration and adventure tomorrow to look forward to.

That put a smile on her face as she drifted off to sleep.


	5. Union Cave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlotte meets up with a pokemon ranger to help a rampaging lapras. On the way, they run into a group of men clad in white.

**Chapter Five: Union Cave**

The enticing scent of various flowers and spices filled Charlotte's nostrils, the light, early morning breeze tugging at her clothes. Red brick houses with brown slated roofs lined the streets, vibrant flowers planted in windowsill pots. People of all ages walked up and down the streets, some battling, some observing, or playing around in the flower fields. Many pokemon roamed the streets, particularly grass types. The air was crisp and dew still clung to the grass, flowers, and some of the wild pokemon.

Fang was at his trainer's side, excited by the exotic nature of the place, his tail wagging back and forth, eyes shining with intrigue. He had eaten a good number of flowers by that point, pollen sticking irritably to the roof of his mouth.

Charlotte was feeling quite optimistic that morning – eager to start off on her journey again; so eager that she woke up at five o'clock. She knew Bloomingvale pretty well so wandering around town would have little point, but she remember that her mother had told her to stock up on items every time she reached a new town.

The Pokemart wasn't far away. She purchased her supplies, feeling a little embarrassed as she paid for things – she wasn't so good with buying things on her own. She made sure that she had plenty of antidotes and anti-paralytic potions since those were the two most common status affects. She also had a pokemon who was very enthusiastic about her electricity.

A group of people in white caught her eye as she left the mart.

There were three men crouching in a nearby flower patch. They wore long, buttoned up laboratory coats and sturdy goggles. With gloved hands, they took pollen samples from the flowers and placed them in small plastic sleeves. Charlotte began to feel confused as she watched one of them pick up a nearby sunflora.

It cried out in surprise and struggled in the man's grip but soon fell still once a syringe was jabbed into its leafy arm. Fang issued a click of surprise as the man in white scraped some of sunflora's pollen right off its face, before capturing it and throwing the pokeball into a small sack. Judging from the shape of the bag, there were numerous other pokeballs in there.

"What…are they doing?" Charlotte asked no one in particular. Fang tensed up, wondering if he should attack the men or not. A nearby woman seemed to hear her, sauntering up to her side.

"They are scientists," she said. "Don't worry; they didn't hurt the sunflora they are just taking it in for examination. They are released back into the wild afterwards," she soothed, trying to comfort the clearly concerned girl.

"Oh...," she sighed belatedly, putting on a smile. Charlotte was glad that they weren't hurting any pokemon, but she was confused as to why they were collecting all that pollen. "But why are they collecting pollen from both flowers and pokemon?"

The woman had a hard look on her face. "I'm not sure. They recently constructed a laboratory towards the edge of town. I'm assuming that they are studying something to do with the biological make up of plant pokemon and actual plants but no one knows for sure."

"Maybe they are working with the professor to gather information?" thought Charlotte out loud, gazing expectantly at the lady. She shrugged and grinned.

"Perhaps. Anyway it's none of your concern," she informed her. "Run along now." The woman's eyes glinted with something unrecognisable to Charlotte – casting a cold glance towards the men in white as the girl slipped away down the street. Fang watched the flower patch for a few moments before scurrying reluctantly after his trainer.

The scientists from earlier were cleared from her memory by the time she set back out on route 32. As she had never strayed beyond the route before, she had to use the map on her pokegear to navigate. On the way, she tried her hardest to avoid trainer battles, but in the end, she did fight a couple of young picnickers with some rattatas that were thankfully weak enough for Fang to beat. She also ran into some wild pokemon that were fairly easy to deal with. She felt bad for hurting innocent pokemon but, since they attacked her first, she didn't have much choice.

By seven o'clock, Charlotte reached the pokemon centre at the end of the route. Charlotte took a short break to heal her pokemon and have lunch with them. Static was just as moody as she was the day previous, though she didn't try to attack Fang or Charlotte this time. She just ate her food in silence, glaring at passer-by's. While there, Charlotte checked Fang's ARS level, discovering that he had reached level 8. She grinned in pride, congratulating her partner on his effort. He seemed rather embarrassed by the attention but puffed out his chest and beamed anyway.

They then travelled to the mouth of Union Cave. Charlotte stood at the end of the path, gazing into the imminent darkness. She had never been inside the cave before and she had never really wanted to – she had heard stories on the news of people getting their blood sucked by zubats and crobats. She knew that her mareep's attacks would be good against them, but there were rock and ground types too.

So she decided to keep both her pokemon out of their pokeballs, hoping that they would not stray far from her in the dark cave. She took out her torch and flicked it on, taking a deep breath. Fear settled in deep, prompting her to shudder a little. She didn't know how her mother dealt with all this fear of darkness and unknown when she was her age.

"L-let's go, Fang, Static," she muttered, squeezing her eyes shut for a few moments as she forced herself to enter the cave. Shaking all over, the strong yellow light of her torch darted all over the place. She wanted to hold one of her pokemon just to comfort her a little, but both her hands were clasped around the torch.

She could hear the gurgle of water, and the distant jolly chatter of miners and hikers. Unidentified pokemon scurried in the dark, emitting curious sounds. The zubat and crobat squeaked and shuffled in their clumps on the ceiling. Charlotte's legs turned to jelly as she shone her torch upon them – there was no way she could fight all of them if they were to attack. So she chose to stay as quiet as she possibly could.

Fang clung close to her legs, teeth gritted – he was prepared to fight if need be. The musty smell of the walls and the damp ground beneath his feet excited him, as did the unfamiliar surroundings. His crocodilian eyes were quick to adjust to the dark, allowing him to keep a close watch of the pokemon that lurked in the dark that his trainer was unaware of.

Static, however, was much less enthusiastic. If she could return to her pokeball herself, she would. The dampness reduced her electrical conductivity and the dirt clung to her wool. She loathed being dirty. She trotted around puddles and bat guano as carefully as she could, scowling at her trainer's back. How could she stand this?

Charlotte zipped up her jacket, shuddering in the cold. Not wishing to get lost, she held her torch in one trembling hand as she took out her pokegear. Once she affirmed that she was going the right way, she set off again, only to suddenly trip, falling flat on her face. Her items flew from her hands, skidding along the hard ground. Fang croaked in alarm.

"Oh! Gosh, sorry," gushed a nervous voice. "I'll help you up."

The young trainer, confused and shaken, recognised the hand held out before her and grasped it. With a jerk, she was brought to her feet. Dusting herself off, she smiled wanly at whoever had helped her up. The person seemed to have picked up her torch and pokegear too, giving them to her undamaged. "T-thank you," Charlotte said.

"It's really no problem, I was the one you tripped over, whoops," the person giggled. Judging from the tone of her voice, Charlotte assumed they were female. She shone the torch at the woman, now able to take in her appearance.

The first thing the young trainer noticed was the glow of her aqua-blue eyes behind her spectacles, her gaze gleaming with cheer. Her frizzy strawberry blond locks hung to her mid-back. Her voice was soft and smooth compared to Charlotte's stammering, meek one. She wore some sort of uniform coloured red and black with yellow highlights. A yellow bandana wrapped around her forehead, bearing a foreign symbol. Charlotte gasped once she noticed the device clasped to the woman's wrist – a capture styler.

"Y-you're a ranger!" she beamed, her hands balling into fists in excitement.

"Uh, huh," the woman confirmed with a nod, "My name is Olivia Speckler, nice to meet you…um?" She waited expectantly for the young trainer to introduce herself.

"Oh! My name is C-Charlotte Evergreen," she stuttered. "These are my pokemon, Fang and Static," she added, gesturing to the pokemon at her feet. She was feeling incredibly shy and awkward around someone such as her – a ranger, people who were heroes and heroines in her eyes. Standing right before her was everything Charlotte wanted to be.

"And this is my partner pokemon, Sandy," she grinned, tapping the sandshrew beside her with her foot. "Don't wander off like that," she then whispered just loudly enough to be heard. Smiling down at the mousy creature, Charlotte bent down and stroked its gritty forehead. Fang and Static kept their distance, the both of them training their cautious gazes on the sandshrew. "Oh! She seems to like you," Olivia chirped.

Charlotte straightened up and wondered if the conversation had ended – she wanted to hear about Olivia's life as a ranger. She decided to ask about it when a sudden rumble gurgled throughout the cave, shaking the ground and walls. The hordes of bat pokemon were startled, taking to the air and fluttering above the girls' heads. Charlotte screamed, struggling to keep her ground and fend off the bats.

With a spark of yellow, Static took matters into her own hands and chose to shock every pokemon in the nearest vicinity, including Fang and Sandy. Paralysed, the bats dropped to the still shuddering ground. Fang too, was paralysed whereas Sandy was unaffected due to her typing. Charlotte saw to fixing Fang as the cave became still again.

"Thank you, Static," said Olivia with a relieved sigh. "Geez, that was the biggest quake yet!"

"What was that?" asked Charlotte. Fang seemed awfully bothered by the whole ordeal, especially Static's attack, narrowing his eyes at the fluffy pokemon. Static merely smirked in pride.

"That was why I need your help," began the ranger with a meek smile. "You see, I have no electric pokemon befriended and it appears that you are the only trainer here with a pokemon who knows a paralysing move." Mareep perked up at the mention of her, trotting closer to the girls in interest. Charlotte tilted her head to the side expectantly.

"There is a lapras that lives deep within these caves. Normally, it acts as a sort of guardian of the place but lately it's been out of whack and causing havoc. My mission is to investigate the situation and stop lapras," Olivia explained with a grave expression on her fine features. "Basically, I need an electric type pokemon to paralyse lapras so I can capture it and take it back to the pokemon centre for analysis." Charlotte listened carefully, nodding and silently wishing that she could be tasked with cool missions like that one day.

"M-me and Static can help for sure," she assured. "I caught her yesterday and it seems like s-she's really good at paralysing so I'm sure that she can h-help." Olivia seemed relieved more than anything.

"Great, thank you," she said earnestly. "Stay close to me, I know the way." That was close – if that young trainer hadn't agreed to help her she wouldn't have been able to complete her mission. That would lead to a lengthy lecture from her boss and possibly a demotion - if he was in a bad mood. Not only that but this place could collapse if lapras continued its violence.

Hurriedly, the girls and their pokemon set off, led by Olivia. They both had torches – illuminating the path before them along with any hostile pokemon. Fang managed to fend off any attacking geodudes and stray zubat with relative ease. As they went on, the earthquakes became more intense, causing debris to tumble from the walls of the cave. They both narrowly dodged falling rocks.

Olivia began to worry about Charlotte – she didn't look a day over ten and she was using her on this dangerous mission? She looked terrified! She scolded herself for her foolishness but they couldn't go back now. She asked her to return her pokemon to her pokeballs as to assure they didn't get hurt.

Soon enough, they emerged from the tunnels in a connecting cave. In the centre was a large lake that smelt of ocean salt. Chunks of ice floated about the lake; being broken up into smaller pieces as a frenzied lapras darted about, occasionally letting off a blast of ice shard or water pulse. It screeched and screamed painfully. Olivia and Charlotte clung close to the walls, where its attacks didn't reach.

They noticed there was a group of men and women in white standing on the land on the other side of the small lake. They appeared to be affiliated with the same scientists back in Bloomingvale – donning the exact same laboratory coats and goggles. They bustled about, working with some strange machinery that was difficult to make out from the opposite side of the cavern. Their movements were desperate and panicked.

"Hey!" called Olivia loud enough that she was heard over the crash of the waves. "Calm down, my friend and I are going to stop lapras!" The scientists stopped what they were doing and turned to her. Their faces were difficult to see from the distance but they seemed relieved. Charlotte, feeling nervous, felt a shudder run down her spine. What if she couldn't stop it? What if Static was hurt? That could end in calamity. Charlotte knew that the lapras was in pain and she wanted nothing more than to make it feel better. Olivia, seeing her hesitance, placed her hands on her shoulders. "This is your pokemon's work. Your only job is to call the attack and make plans. Relax, and have faith in your mareep." Her words calmed the young girl down somewhat as she shakily reached for Static's pokeball and sent her out.

As soon as she was free, Static had to dodge a falling boulder with a frightened bleat. She flicked her gaze towards the lapras, fleece sparking already. "Static, I need you to jump on lapras's back when it gets close enough, so that you can paralyse it with your thunder wave," she told her. The mareep looked flabbergasted – she glanced rapidly between the icy water, the lapras, and Charlotte's nervous face. She shook her head.

"Please, Static," begged Charlotte in a panic. "You'll get a warm bath and some good food after this I promise! I'll even make sure your fleece is all brushed and soft." Static shifted awkwardly on her hooves as she considered the deal. If she was to fall in the water, at least all the dirt and grime would be washed off and she would do nearly anything for a bit of extra food. Reluctantly, she nodded. Charlotte's eyes lit up as she grinned - pleased that her pokemon was willing to work with her.

"Great, I'll tell you when lapras is close enough for Static to jump," said Olivia, brow furrowed in determination. She had her hand on a rope at her waist that she would need to lasso the beast to shore once it had been paralysed and befriend it with her capture styler.

There were a few moments of silent waiting as the lapras thrashed about the lake, debris still raining from the ceiling and the ground still shaking as it released blast after blast of water and ice attacks. Sandy the sandshrew had been cautiously inching back towards the tunnels and was now a fair distance away. The lapras circled closer and closer to the bank where the girls were when suddenly it was right up against the edge, about to release an attack of ice shard.

"Go now!" yelled Olivia hurriedly.

"Quick, use thunder wave!" Charlotte screeched as the mareep leapt onto the lapras's back, releasing a powerful shock of electricity. Lines of crackling yellow stung the lapras's scaly blue skin, causing it to thrash about even more than before, throwing Static off its back with a sharp cry from her.

"Static!" the young trainer called desperately as Static's head bobbed up and down in the water as she flailed its legs to keep herself afloat. She bleated fearfully. The lapras's movements were beginning to slow as the paralysis set in. Charlotte took this time to send her totodile out of his pokeball so that he could bring Static back to land. Meanwhile, Olivia readied her lasso, whirling it in the air a few times before she looped it around the lapras's neck and laboriously tugged it to shore.

Once all was done, Charlotte and Olivia rejoiced in relief. "Well done to everyone!" sang the ranger. Charlotte grinned shyly at the compliments as she returned her pokemon to her pokeballs. She felt sorry for poor Static – she was soaked and freezing to the bone.

"I'm just happy lapras is going to be okay now," Charlotte commented. She noticed that there were bruises and wounds all over the creature's body, most likely from its thrashing. Olivia's face fell almost immediately as she readied and empty pokeball.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," she sighed, pressing the button of the ball against lapras's forehead. The beast disappeared in a flicker of red light. Charlotte was confused by this – she had thought that rangers never caught pokemon, only befriended them through the use of their styler.

"In case you're wondering," said Olivia knowingly, "rangers do have to catch pokemon sometimes. There are lots of different circumstances but in this case, this lapras will not be able to travel back to base as it is therefore the easiest way for me to transport it, is in a pokeball. Once it is fully analysed back at base, it will be released into the wild." Charlotte clung onto each word, taking mental notes. In television show that she was familiar with, she never once saw a ranger catch a pokemon. She was deeply intrigued by this.

Remembering the scientists on the other side of the lake, Olivia was about to call to them when she realised that they had disappeared. Confusion crossed her face as she stared at the wall, as if expected them to materialize again. Charlotte also noticed their absence.

"Maybe they escaped during the battle?" Charlotte suggested, looking up at Olivia. She bit her lip.

"I'm not sure," she said, forcing a smile on her face. "But it doesn't matter, let's just get to Azalea Town and get this lapras healed before its injuries get worse."

After running through the pelting rain with a squealing sandshrew on their heels, the ranger and trainer made it to the scenic town of Azalea. The small town was surrounded by a thick forest that undoubtedly crawled with bug and bird type pokemon. The only way the town could be accessed was through either Union Cave or Ilex Forest – both were easy to get lost in. A number of slowpoke wandered around town, none of them quite sure what they were doing. A well lay on the edge of town, which was the origin of the town's slowpoke population. The town was quiet and generally uneventful.

Charlotte and Olivia were awaiting the return of lapras from the operating room. Apparently, the creature had been in a bad place when they brought it to the nurse. Olivia was deeply concerned by the grave look on the nurse's face, and hadn't said a word since the pokemon was taken in. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong here. Charlotte, however, seemed oblivious to this – she was just hoping the lapras was going to be okay. She had also taken her own pokemon to be healed.

Just as the nurse called out to them to give them the news, a strangely dressed man strode through the electronic doors of the pokemon centre. Charlotte's gaze turned to him as she followed Olivia to the counter.

He wore a denim tattered jacket that dragged along the floor as he walked. His black boots clicked against the tiles, echoing. He wore a white pair of pants with a red belt, along with a white dress shirt. His black hair was neatly combed back and fixed in place with product, shining blue in the light. His eyes were hidden by aviator shades, a frown tugging at his lips.

Charlotte didn't know what to make of him – something simply seemed off about him. Sandy clung closer to Olivia's legs. Charlotte shuddered involuntarily and tore her gaze away from him and towards the nurse at the counter instead, who was handing back her pokemon. As the man strode to her side, she noted that he smelt of pungent cologne and sea salt. He spread his palms on the counter.

"That lapras, I would like to take it," he said smoothly, his deep voice overpowering Olivia's as she began to speak.

"Excuse me?" scowled Olivia, genuinely upset. "I caught this pokemon and it is my duty to care for it. You can't just walk in here and ask for it." His gaze directed to the ranger, the light shifting on his shades so that his burgundy eyes could be seen. She didn't like the looks of this guy at all. She tapped her sandshrew with her foot, indicating that if he tried anything, she was to attack him.

"You are a ranger," he said with a smirk. "You would have released this pokemon anyway. I've had my eyes on it for quite some time." Olivia said nothing, her crystalline eyes boring into his burgundy ones. She couldn't track a hint of malice in those eyes, despite the aura he gave off, only mock. Charlotte stayed quiet as well – she felt as though she was too young to have a place in this argument.

The nurse broke the silence. "Lapras is healed as best we could manage. Amongst the injuries sustained from its rampage, it appears to have some sort of odd bacterial infection. This infection seemed to be painful enough for it to go crazy. We are not sure what it is, but we've managed to clear up most of it and have given it an antibiotic to deal with the remainder of the infection," she explained with mixed emotions in her eyes. "It shouldn't be allowed to battle for some time."

"I wasn't planning to," replied Olivia softly, eyes still on the man, as she was handed lapras's pokeball. A scowl crawled onto his face as his stare drifted to the pokeball in her hand. The ranger could tell that he badly wanted that lapras. She minimised the pokeball and slipped it into the pocket of her black and yellow shorts.

The man clicked his tongue, standing up straighter. He was significantly taller than her, which meant he towered over Charlotte. He leaned closer to the ranger's face, making her more uncomfortable. His breath was cool and smelt of mint. "As a ranger you have a legal requirement to serve the people and pokemon of this world. You have captured that pokemon, but by the regulations enforced by your particular base, you cannot keep it. I am a certified trainer who specialises in water types. Lapras will be safe in my custody."

"How about you battle for it," suggested the nurse. She could tell that there was a lot of tension between them and she really didn't want a fight starting in the middle of the centre.

"No," they replied simultaneously. Olivia knew she would be at a severe disadvantage with a ground type pokemon and Charlotte was too much of an amateur to do much anyway. She was also shaking in her sneakers and was too busy trying to calm herself by fiddling with the hems of her shorts.

"Here, take the lapras," said Olivia through gritted teeth, taking the pokeball out of her pocket and shoving it into his chest. "You're right. I'm being kind of silly. Just…treat it right."

"Will do, madam," he grinned. Though it was not a happy grin, it was more of a mocking one. With that, he turned on his heels, jacket billowing behind him as he left the pokemon centre without another word. Olivia didn't take her eyes off him until he was out of sight. She visibly relaxed once he was gone, letting go of a heavy sigh.

"Are you okay?" asked Charlotte, who was also relieved he was gone. She had no clue how to act in that situation – all she could do was shake and she berated herself for that.

"Yeah I was just getting a little protective of poor lapras," she smiled awkwardly, scratching the back of her head. Charlotte smiled and understood, feeling much more at ease.

Olivia and Charlotte parted ways after that. The ranger told the trainer that if she was to take on the Azalea gym, she should probably do some training in Ilex forest first. She also mentioned off-handily that she had some additional business to take care of and that something just didn't feel right.

"I'll probably be seeing you though," the ranger grinned as she waved Charlotte goodbye, heading off in the direction of Ilex forest at a brisk pace, Sandy at her heels.

The young trainer stood about for a few moments, before realising that now would be a good time to start training – it was just after midday, meaning that she had until sundown to train. She headed to the store and bought a few extra antidotes, knowing that she would be about to battle a lot of bug and poison types. She was deeply concerned about fighting that many wild pokemon – she could really hurt them. Her own pokemon could get badly injured too. She decided that she would cling close to the entrance to the forest, just in case.

As she walked there, she tried to remember how to go about training. At school she was told to simply battle wild pokemon until they fled or fainted and that would boost her pokemon's ARS level. She could also battle her pokemon against each other, or practice specific attacks on rocks or trees. Her mother and Gold had also given her some pointers.

Once she had entered the gate between the town and forest, she began to worry about other issues. She doubted she would be able to get her pokemon to the level where they can fight the gym leader – Gold and Silver were capable of training much harder than she was. Then again, she had never trained before; she just thought she wouldn't be particularly good at it.

Sighing shakily, she stepped into the forest, swathed in semi-darkness once more. At least here, there was light sifting down through the leaves of trees, allowing Charlotte to see where she was going. The forest was quiet – the only sounds were the rustling of bushes and trees, and the occasional cry of a pokemon. The air was cool and the ground was mushy with leaves and moist soil. The air smelt of mildew and greenery. Charlotte slipped off her shoes, stuffing them in her backpack so that she could feel the ground beneath her toes.

She chose to train Static first, as her ARS level was lower than Fang's. In a flash of red, the mareep materialized at her feet, her permanently disgruntled expression deepening. She was still dirty and damp from the events at the cave. She sunk her hooves into the decaying leaf matter, grimacing at the sliminess. She didn't know how her trainer could go without shoes in here. Her fleece sparked as she met Charlotte's gaze.

"I won't break my promise," she said quickly. "Trust me. We're just doing a little training so that we can beat the gym, that's all."

Static was not okay with this but she supposed she didn't have much choice. She bleated in frustration as Charlotte gazed about her, searching for something or someone to fight. She didn't want to, of course, but this was what she had to do now.

A loud rustle in the bushes behind her alerted her to the presence of another trainer. The boy appeared to be the same age as her, and experience too, judging by the rattata at his feet. Charlotte, feeling nervous already, took this opportunity to call out to him for a battle.

Moments later, the boy's ratatta was defeated. Feeling bad for the boy and his only pokemon, Charlotte handed him one of her potions, apologising shyly for hurting the ratatta. Nevertheless, Static gained experience from the fight. She could tell that the mareep wasn't into following her orders, which made the following fights more awkward. Sometimes, Static would completely ignore her and use a different move, which frustrated her to no end.

She spent the rest of the afternoon laboriously training, tiring both herself and her pokemon out. She didn't realise that training would be such hard work – how Gold did this, she had no idea. She kind of wished she never had to do that again but she knew that she would have to if she was going to beat all the other gyms. And in the end, it was her pokemon battling not her.

Faced with the steady darkening of the forest, Charlotte returned to the Azalea Town pokemon centre, nerves tingling as she remembered that she had to challenge the gym tomorrow. She tried to get her mind off things by giving Static a much deserved bath and food like she had promised. She had to clean her with rubber gloves, as to assure she didn't shock her (which she tried to do).

That night she called her dad and had another awkward conversation.

"So…has your mother…," he began slowly. "Has she started dating again?"

Charlotte hung up as soon as the words left his mouth, burying her face in the pillow. She didn't want to think about that, or about the imminent battle tomorrow – she felt sick to the stomach.

She didn't get much sleep that night.


	6. Azalea Gym

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, Charlotte takes on her first gym. Her fears get in the way of her concentration, leading to her pokemon having to take charge of the fight.

**Chapter Six: Azalea Gym**

The gym reminded Charlotte of the forest she trained in a day prior. Grabbing handfuls of her jacket, she looked around quietly, taking in the surroundings of the gym. Spiderwebs hung from the ceiling, crawling with spinarak. Caterpie, weedle and their evolutions hung about in the trees that sprawled all over the gym's floor. Charlotte almost tripped over a number of roots. Sections of the floor seemed to have caved in, covered with cobwebs made of rope. Small carts traversed these ropes via a pulley system.

The gym assistants were busy battling other trainers to test their ability. Charlotte hovered around the door, waves of anxiety flowing through her body. The gym's greeter noticed her and issued her a wave, striding over to her.

"You look nervous," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder. All of her muscles had tensed up and her skin had broken out in a sweat. She had Static's pokeball clasped in her hands, turning it over and over. She was terrified – she knew just how strong gym leaders were. She knew one, Falkner. Her mother once told her that during a Team Rocket raid on Violet City a couple years ago, he was able to almost single-handedly fend them off – how was Charlotte supposed to compete with that?

She didn't even realise the greeter was there until he spoke again. "This is your first gym battle isn't it?" Charlotte glanced up at him, surprised. She nodded slowly. She opened her dry mouth to speak but found no words to say. He smiled sympathetically. "Don't worry; Bugsy won't go all out on new trainers. Get some practice by battling the gym attendants." Charlotte nodded a few times, taking deep, shaky breaths. He handed her a bottle of water, which she eagerly drank.

"You'll have to traverse the gym using those spider carts," he explained as he gently pushed Charlotte towards the first false spider web covered pit.

"O-okay," she muttered as the greeter returned to his position beside the door. She clicked the button on the pokeball in her hands, sending out her mareep. She had a fairly neutral expression – she wasn't looking forward to this but she didn't hate battling, so long as she didn't get too dirty. During their training the previous afternoon, she managed to boost her ARS level to ten, which she hoped would be enough. Stepping onto the platform, she peered cautiously over the edge.

The pit below was filled with soft leaves that would break her fall if she was to tumble from the platform. This comforted her as she tugged on the rope, pulling herself towards the opposite side of the hole, where a gym assistant was waiting to battle her. Cringing, she stepped before him, Static taking her stance.

Charlotte and Static managed, with little difficulty, to take down two of the gym assistants. Items were not allowed to be used in battle; therefore her pokemon had taken a significant amount of damage from poisoning. Charlotte was terrified that her pokemon would faint or worse if she didn't give them an antidote, but the assistants assured her that their pokemon were using non-lethal amounts of poison.

Currently, Static was facing off against a beedrill. Luckily, her electric attacks were doing a significant amount of damage. However, the bug type was much faster than she was, always managing to get in a move or two before Static counter-attacked. Eventually, the speed got to her and she was taken out by a strategic barrage of fury attack.

She was just as shocked by Static's defeat, as she had been by Fang back at Sprout Tower. She found herself apologised profusely as the electric pokemon glared at her through half-lidded eyes. She returned her to her pokeball and tucked it safely away in her belt. At that point she wished she had caught more pokemon – she only had Fang left. His ARS level was higher than Static's though, twelve, so hopefully he could take on the gym leader on his own.

Charlotte honestly believed she had never been more nervous in her life as she stepped up to the field. There was an arena set up, with Bugsy waiting patiently at the opposite end. Another trainer stood beside him, cheerily receiving the hive badge. Charlotte felt like she was going to collapse as the gym leader motioned to her.

"Wow, you challengers are really tiring me out today," he commented.

Charlotte nervously studied his appearance as she sent her totodile out for battle. Bugsy was young – probably around the age of fifteen. His chunky purple hair brushed his jaw and his wide eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. He was wearing a scout uniform that Charlotte was not familiar with. He seemed to be physically tired, breathing heavily which didn't make sense to her as he had only been calling attacks.

Fang got down on all fours, haunches raised, lips twisted in a toothy grin. He was almost shuddering with anticipation for the upcoming battle. He hadn't had the chance to fight today and was suffering from the boredom of not doing so. However, he knew his trainer wasn't into this at all, which made her commands awkward and poorly planned.

"How many badges do you have?" asked Bugsy as he got to selecting which pokemon to use.

"None," replied Charlotte swiftly. The leader nodded decisively as he chose two specific pokeballs from a shelf behind him. With a flash, the screen fixed to the wall came on, displaying a picture of a totodile, along with a health bar. Charlotte pondered how they managed to keep track of Fang's health as Bugsy sent out his first pokemon.

Charlotte recognised it as a ledyba. The bug pokemon fluttered its wings as it came out of its pokeball, before withdrawing them back under their red and black casing. Its fist-like hands had a firm grip on the field, its face set in determination. Pulling her pokedex out of her pocket, a quick scan indicated that it was ARS 10, much to her relief.

"Alright then, let me show you the true power of bug type pokemon!" called Bugsy. "Challengers take the first move," he added once he noticed how paralysed Charlotte seemed. She remained frozen for a few moments before she issued Fang's first order.

"Fang, let's start this b-battle with rage," she stuttered just loud enough for Fang to hear her. The totodile kicked off just before she finished her sentence, body glowing red with rage, eyes burning with excitement for the fight. She learnt from her training that if Fang were to be attacked throughout the battle, his rage would grow and do more damage the next time he used the attack.

"Good plan," complemented Bugsy. "Ledyba counter with comet punch."

As Fang rammed into the bug pokemon, it struck back with a barrage of comet punch, all six of his limbs striking out at Fang. Charlotte was yelling at him to dodge frantically, managing only in distracting her pokemon and allowing him to get hit more.

With an annoyed click, Fang skidded backwards. That bug sure punched hard – he could feel bruises forming under his scales. He stood up on his hind legs, waiting for his trainer's next command. Ledyba hovered just above the field, darting to and fro. Charlotte hesitated for a few moments, trying to think of what to do next. Bugsy took that moment to attack again, seeing how slow Charlotte was.

"Let's get this battle moving with supersonic," commanded Bugsy.

Ledyba responded immediately, darting towards Fang. It opened its mouth a let loose a string of high-pitched sound waves. Before the waves hit him, Charlotte yelled, "Quick, do something!" She couldn't believe that she was this awkward about this battle after all the training she did. She was shaking so much she thought she would collapse.

"Come on, focus!" yelled Bugsy at her as the sound waves hit Fang before he could react. He clasped his hand over his ears, gritting his teeth together – but it was too late. The world before him began to spin and blur, causing him to stumble as he tried unsuccessfully to gain his bearings. Voices swam in and out of his head – he recognised them as Charlotte's desperate pleas for him to regain his composure.

"Oh, Arceus," muttered Charlotte in a gush. "Fang, uh, just…" An idea came to her like a strike of lightning. "Water gun! Just stumble around and keep using it." That way, he should hopefully be able to get at least a single blast. It took a while for Fang to process what she said. By then, ledyba had already prepared another bought of comet punch.

"Dodge it ledyba," Bugsy said as Fang started firing water gun at random, while stumbling around trying to actually locate his target through the haze. Ledyba darted around Fang, striking out at him and making his confusion worse. Ledyba dodged the beams of water at first, but as Fang increased the pace, it got hit a few times, breaking its attack. The bug pokemon flitted back to its trainer, looking somewhat fatigued.

Finally, Fang snapped out of his confusion, his blue eyes gazing all about him as he gained his bearings. Planting his feet firmly on the ground, he narrowed his eyes at ledyba, issuing a curt growl. Charlotte's head throbbed as she tried to quickly come up with a strategy.

"This final move should do it, use tackle to get close to totodile again!" said Bugsy. He looked like this was no trouble for him at all. Charlotte knew that it probably wasn't – he would have faced trainers much more advanced than her.

"Fang, counter with scratch," she called swiftly. Fang didn't need to be told twice, getting his claws at the ready. He knew that his trainer wouldn't elaborate on his command, despite it obviously not being enough to finish the fight. Therefore, he took matters into his own hands – literally.

He waited tensely as ledyba sped towards him. He had never done this before, but he was determined he could pull this off. Just as ledyba was about to hit, he put his hands up, grasping the bug's head. It let off an alarmed sound as Fang skidded backwards with the force of the attack, struggling to keep his grip. Bugsy bit his lip as Charlotte dropped her mouth open in shock.

"Comet punch," recovered the gym leader. Charlotte swiftly took this opportunity to get another attack in. "Close range water gun!" she yelled.

Simultaneously, the attacks hit. However, Fang managed to get his water gun in just before he was punched in the jaw. Ledyba was shot backwards and into the wall, knocking it out cold. Fang fell over backwards, though he remained conscious. His jaw was slightly askew, prompting him to wince as he massaged it with his hand. It was obviously dislocated and would make it difficult for him to produce a good blast of water gun. Grimacing at the injury, Charlotte panicked, unable to bear the thought of letting him fight on like that.

Fumbling at her belt, she placed a hand on her mareep's pokeball. She was at full health and was about as strong as Fang: she was her best bet. She quickly returned the water type to his pokeball. Simultaneously, Static appeared at her feet in a burst of light. Fang watched on concernedly through the clear dome of his ball, claws pressed to the plastic.

"A good move," complimented Bugsy. "That injury could have gotten much worse."

Static was thoroughly displeased at her sudden participation in battle, but she was confident in her skills and was positive she would be able to finish this leader off with ease. One glance towards the quivering Charlotte evoked annoyance within her – how dare this puny trainer catch her? She had begun to consider simply refusing to fight until her opponent materialized across the battlefield.

The scyther was a full metre and a half taller than her, arms as sharp as knives. Its filmy wings shuddered on its back as it set its feet apart, compound eyes gleaming with excited blood lust. The green chitin plates armouring its body shone in the gym's warm lights. Static took a few steps backwards, clenching her teeth together. She would have to fight; else she could lose her life to that thing but she didn't trust her trainer to make the right decisions.

She would have to take this fight into her own hooves.

Charlotte's mouth opened and closed as she fiddled with her pokedex, finding that the scyther was level 12, which was two levels higher than Static and Fang. However, it was half flying type, which made Static's electricity super effective. She switched to mareep's moves, struggling to come up with a proper battle plan through all the anxiety and fear pounding through her. Static rolled her eyes at her hesitancy, kicking at the dirt with her hooves as her wool crackled.

Bugsy moved first, since it was clear that Charlotte was still at a loss for what to do, telling his pokemon to start with focus energy. If he was honest, Bugsy actually felt sorry for Charlotte – the girl was not nearly ready to participate in gym battles. He wondered if she had even battled before, with her lack of confidence.

Charlotte, relieved that the scyther wasn't attacking that turn, decided to start with thunder wave as to slow the speedy bug type down. Whilst scyther focused on building its energy, Static let loose a short, weak burst of electricity that struck her opponent directly. Sparks coursed all over its body, though it barely seemed to acknowledge was had happened as it broke its concentration, ready to attack.

"Use vacuum wave!" Bugsy called. Before Charlotte could tell her pokemon to counter, a blast of wind, generated by a swift movement of scyther's wings, flung mareep into the air. With a startled squeal, she collided with the dirt just a metre from where she was previously standing. Furious, she quickly got to her feet, trembling in the aftermath of the attack, knowing full well that it had done more damage than normal.

Charlotte wondered why the effects of paralysis hadn't kicked in yet – she knew the move landed. Biting her lip she called out, "Static use thunder shock." The wool pokemon shook her head obstinately, confusing her trainer. Static had a feeling that Bugsy would make his scyther use a physical move next, since it wasn't great at using special moves like vacuum wave.

"Static, what are you doing?" gushed Charlotte, shaking as she tried to urge her pokemon to obey her. The mareep simply shook her head again, body stiffening as she prepared herself. She raised her tail, the red orb on its end gleaming in the light.

"Charlotte, get a hold of your pokemon!" shouted Bugsy, earnestly concerned for her. "Scyther let's get this moving with quick attack!" As soon as he spoke his command, Static began to swing her tail downwards with all her might. Simultaneously, lightning fast, scyther's chitin clicked as it sprung forward. Within seconds, a loud clang echoed throughout the gym as the orb on Static's tail slammed onto scyther's forehead. The pokemon growled in pain, reeling backwards.

Both Bugsy and Charlotte were shocked by Static's actions – neither of them had seen a mareep use its tail like that before. Charlotte's eyes were wide as she was hit with inspiration – clearly her freshly caught pokemon new how to battle better than she did. "Wow," commented Bugsy, impressed. "That pokemon must have seen some interesting fights to have learnt to do that."

"M-maybe," replied Charlotte, sending the sheep a relieved smile. Static smirked in pride.

"But it's going to take both pokemon and trainer to win this battle!" Bugsy pointed out. "Use leer to lower mareep's guard!"

"Um, use growl to reduce its attack," said Charlotte, figuring that she may as well try to make it easier for her pokemon to last out on the field. Scyther's eyes began to glow red as it glared maliciously at Static, making her uncomfortable. Since the bug type was busy with its leering, Static chose to disobey her trainer once more.

Electricity danced in rings around her striped horns as she unleashed a bolt towards scyther. Caught off guard by her sudden actions, it broke its leer too late, being hit square in the chest by the attack. Muscles straining, Static forced herself to keep the attack going, focusing a continuous beam of electricity on scyther. It skidded backwards due to the force, enraged. It movements seemed to slow.

Unable to sustain her attack for too long, Static soon broke the charge, stumbling backwards. She panted heavily, backing away towards her trainer. "It's tired! Use this opportunity to attack with pursuit!" Unable to defend herself, Static braced herself as scyther charged towards her, pummelling into her with a full body attack. Rapidly, over and over again, it hit her from various angles.

"Static!" panicked Charlotte, her hands tangled in her hair. She watched the seen with watering eyes, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. She blinked them away, refusing to cry in front of a gym leader. "Please hold up Static! Please," she begged weakly.

That was exactly what Static planned to do. She fell to the ground, letting her thick fur take the brunt of all the attacks. She knew she would be left with bruises all over her blue skin after this attack and would barely have the strength to make a comeback, but if her personal plan worked, she should be able to finish this battle in a single hit.

Soon enough, Charlotte began to notice scyther's attacks becoming slower and slower as the effects of her ability began to kick in. Combined with the lingering effects of her thunder wave at the very beginning of the battle, and the damage done by her previous attack, scyther was slowed to a standstill. Its face was screwed up in pain as all its muscles locked up, nerves shot and unable to function like normal.

Charlotte's face lit up in utter relief as she clasped a hand over her mouth, wiping sweat from her brow. "Okay, okay," she muttered. "Static are you okay?" Shakily, she got to her feet, staggering a few paces to the side. Once she had regained her composure, she nodded.

"Come on scyther! Break out of it buddy," encouraged Bugsy.

"Static I need you to do that thing you did earlier, with your tail. But I want you to charge it with electricity," explained Charlotte as she wrung her clammy hands. Smiling determinedly, Static nodded – she had been planning to do that anyway.

Trotting forwards slowly and deliberately towards the defenceless scyther, she thought of her father and how desperately he had defended her against a scyther in the past. He had ended up being caught, leaving her alone to fend for herself. Electricity crackled around her red orb as she sprung up into the air, picturing her father's woolly features in her mind.

With a loud bleat, she slammed her electrically charged tail down as hard as she could on scyther's head, a deafening, crackling blow heard all throughout the gym. Scyther was forced into the ground from the impact, electrolysed body twitching on the ground, the light gone from its eyes.

Charlotte stared, dumbstruck by the scene, barely able to believe what was happening. She dropped to her knees as Static trotted up to her, eyes shining with the joy of victory. Gingerly, Charlotte reached out to pet her velvety nose, only managing to brush it slightly before Static pulled away, shaking her head.

"Thank you Static," Charlotte whispered to her. "I…would have literally lost if it weren't for you." Static knew that, she didn't need to be told. She turned away from her, feeling satisfied that she had taken out her revenge on a scyther, but displeased that her trainer could do nothing but watch her fight. With a juddered sigh, Charlotte returned her pokemon.

A hand came down on her shoulder, prompting her to tense up and look to her side. There, crouched Bugsy, grinning warmly at her. In his outstretched palm was a shimmering metallic badge that was shaped and coloured like the wings of a ledyba. Smiling meekly, Charlotte gratefully received her prize.

Bugsy's smile soon disappeared though as he sat down beside her. "Look, I don't want to sound too harsh but that was not great for a first gym battle. You panicked the whole time and because of that you were unable to direct your pokemon properly. I can tell that you caught that mareep recently, and haven't developed a bond with it yet. And due to your lack of skill and confidence in battle, it believes it can do better on its own."

Charlotte nodded slowly all throughout his speech, aware of all that he was telling her. She knew she couldn't battle like the average trainer yet, she knew that her bond with her pokemon was not up to scratch and she knew she couldn't even consider challenging the next gym without improving on that. If she didn't put her head in the game, she would be a disgrace to her mother and herself.

"I…I did t-train though before I came here," admitted Charlotte. "But I didn't want to and I guess I was kind of lazy with it. I don't want to see my pokemon get hurt, or any pokemon get hurt. It doesn't feel right." Bugsy nodded, unable to fully empathise with her due to how used to battling he was.

"Practice makes perfect, it gets easier, I promise," consoled Bugsy as best he could.

"I hope so," muttered Charlotte with a meek smile as she got to her feet.

Rushing her pokemon to the center as soon as she had left the gym, Charlotte described her pokemon's injuries in a panic. The nurse tried her best to calm her down, reassuring her that their injuries were not extensive and could easily be fixed. Despite her words, Charlotte remained jittery and anxious until her pokemon returned from her in full health.

For the rest of the afternoon, she kept her pokemon out of their pokeballs. She groomed them, fed them and made sure that they were comfortable and feeling good after their hard battles. Static was not very coercive to Charlotte's attempts but agreed to being brushed – her battle with that scyther had roughed her up and she loathed being dirty.

Once Charlotte had booked out a room to spend the night, she chose to play with Fang until she became too tired to stay up. Her mother had given her a laser pointer, since most young pokemon seem to enjoy playing with them. Fang was no different. Static, however, just watched the scene through tired, irritated eyes, from the bed.

All the while, the new trainer could barely believe she had actually managed to win a gym battle. Even when she was staring at the badge she had received and proudly pinned to the inside of her jacket, she felt like she was imagining it.


	7. Woman in Green

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlotte takes a detour through route Illex Forest and encounters a mysterious, yet kindly woman.

**Chapter Seven: Woman in Green**

Charlotte fumbled around in her backpack in search of some incense sticks and a lighter. She had been specifically instructed by her mother that as soon as she came across the protector’s shrine, she was to place incense inside it, and wish for good luck. Carefully, she lit the sticks, being extra careful to avoid burning herself.

Static and Fang watched on as she did so. Once the sticks were safely inside the wooden box, Charlotte latched closed the white doors, smoke curling out from between the gaps in the slats. She inhaled the musky scent with a deep sigh. Then, she placed her palms together, uttering a small prayer to the forest spirit, asking it to help her on her journey. She could not do this alone.

Static knew the significance of the ritual, whereas Fang did not, expressing his confusion over the human’s actions. Once the group set off again, he asked the wool pokemon about it. With a huff, she briefly explained that it is a popular belief that praying at the shrine will bring someone good luck and prosperity, which was something Charlotte needed for her upcoming battles.

The forest was darker that day, due to the thick cloud cover overhead. The shifting light was pale, leaving many dark spots throughout the woods that Charlotte refused to walk into due to her fears. There were more pokemon than usual lurking in the undergrowth, especially bug types that fed upon decaying leaves and mould. She had no desire to catch pokemon like that. There were parts of the woods where trees and shrubs grew so closely together that it was nearly impossible for her to get through.

She encountered one trainer not far from the entrance of the forest. She won – fairly easily this time, which brought her a little bit of confidence. She also was attacked by some wild pokemon as she got deeper in, but her own pokemon were able to fend them off, levelling up in the process.

However, before she could reach the deepest part of the woods, she was stopped by a pair of police officers. Dressed in their familiar blue and black attire, they wore white surgeon’s masks over their faces, which concerned the girl as she sauntered up to them, wondering what was going on. The growlithe at their feet yipped at Fang and Static, prompting the former to cling onto Charlotte’s leg in surprise.

“Hello young trainer,” the first officer greeted, his voice muffled by his mask. Charlotte nodded sheepishly. “Sorry for the inconvenience but the main trail is covered by a thick green fog that has been poisoning the native grass and bug pokemon of the area.” Charlotte nodded once more, feeling sorry for all the sick pokemon.

“There is a safer path to the right, but I suggest wearing this mask,” he went on as he handed Charlotte her own mask, “and returning your pokemon to their pokeballs, just in case.” The young trainer did as she was told, feeling earnestly concerned. She slipped on the mask, and headed off down the heavily wooded path she had been instructed to go down.

This path seemed to have been carved out by pokemon rather than people, since it consisted merely of flattened grass that weaved around the trees. As Charlotte walked she wondered what kind of pokemon would have made the path – probably a stantler. She then began to wonder just where the stantler was going when it made the path – maybe to see his family. She continued this train of thought as she travelled.

Occasionally, when there was a part in the trees and she could see the main trail in the distance, she watched the poisonous green mist swirl in the stagnant breeze. She furrowed her brow at it, unsure of the cause of something so dangerous. She assumed it was just the work of a poison type pokemon but she couldn’t be sure.

Eventually, worn out from walking, she took a break under a log that had fallen over the path like a bridge. She had encountered a couple other trainers waiting in the bushes to ambush passer-by’s for battles. They scared her every time but her battles with them were enough to raise both her pokemon to level twelve. Fang rested his heavy head in her lap, gnawing on a rock he had found. Gently, Charlotte stroked his smooth, scaly head, listening to his soft purrs.

Static kept her distance, keeping guard. She could sense that something was up and it was making her wool stand on end, electricity coursing through it. She had lived in the wilds all her life and never had she seen fog like that. Either there was a new pokemon inhabiting the woods, or it was human made.

Charlotte, oblivious to the vibe Static was getting, admired the moss on the log above her. Slowly, a caterpie inched its way towards a lusciously green leaf, taking a hungry bite once it arrived, eyes closed as it enjoyed the taste. It was cool under the log; the feeling of the earth beneath her comforted her. She grabbed fistfuls of soft dirt and slimly leaves, sticking her tongue out at the feeling of it between her fingers.

A sudden, eratic movement in Charlotte’s bag snapped her out of her peaceful respite. Her bag, which had been sitting beside her, had toppled over, spilling some of its contents. Hurriedly, Charlotte tended to the mess, discovering that it was her egg that had been moving. Heart skipping a beat as she was hit with excitement, she gently withdraw the shuddering incubator from her bag, placing it in front of her. Her pokemon crowded around her. Static didn’t even know she had an egg with her.

Eyes glittering, she clicked the button to open the incubator, allowing her to see the various cracks appearing on the very top of the egg. It stopped for a mere moment, before shaking side to side even more violently, the top of the egg splintering off and revealing a pair of feet. Charlotte giggled at its wiggling legs.

“That’s not how you do it,” she said. Then, all of a sudden, the egg toppled over, smashing the front of the shell in such a way that it could free only its arms. Grinning from ear to ear, Charlotte cheered as the strange little pokemon opened its beady black eyes, staring up at the branches above, little arms and legs still wiggling. Its new trainer reached over and took it in her arms, shushing it as it began to emit little cries.

She examined the new pokemon carefully – she hadn’t seen anything like it before. It seemed to have stayed in most of its blue and red, triangle speckled egg, only its fuzzy head, arms and feet showing. Its head seemed to take the shape of a star almost and was as soft as velvet to the touch. Curious, Charlotte drew out her pokedex.

According to the ‘dex, the newborn was a male togepi with the ability hustle. It was a normal type, which was well known for their high defence and weak offense. The spike-ball pokemon was known for its tendency to give happiness to trainers who care for it. Cuddling the bawling pokemon in her arms, Charlotte noticed with a frown that it wasn’t very happy right now.

“Here, feed it this,” came a soft voice from beside her. Charlotte nearly jumped out of her skin as she noticed a woman crouching beside her, part of her face hidden by the bulk of the log. In her hand was a bottle filled with milk. Static let loose a short bleat, trying to warn her trainer of strangers, but Charlotte accepted the bottle with little hesitation, prompting her to huff and sit back on her haunches.

Togepi began to suckle immediately, lapping away hungrily at the pokemon milk.

“T-thank you,” smiled Charlotte at the stranger as she sat down beside her, struggling somewhat under the weight of her rotund belly.

She began to study her appearance thoughtfully while the newborn ate. She had grass green hair, matted with leaves. Her ruby eyes seemed welcoming, not holding any hint of malice as she assured Charlotte that it was her duty to aid young trainers in their pokemon rearing. She wore a pastel green summer dress with an immaculate, white smock. A brown cloak was draped around her shoulders, spreading out around her. A strange pokemon sat down in her lap, ruffling the vibrant flowers it had for hands.

“My name is Harumi and this is my partner roselia. Her name is Jasmine,” she introduced. With a start, Charlotte coyly introduced herself and her pokemon, hesitating when it came to her togepi.

“Oh, he doesn’t have a name yet,” she muttered. Harumi giggled pleasantly.

“How about we work together on a name? You can tell me which one you like best,” she suggested, smiling sweetly at the new trainer – perhaps a little too sweetly, not that Charlotte noticed. Closing her eyes for a few moments, Harumi took a deep breath and began to think. After a few moments, she let the breath go in a huff.

“Alright, I have four names. Scramble, Benedict, Sunnyside and Omelette. Do you like any of those?” she began, stroking togepi’s forehead with the tip of her index finger as she spoke. Meanwhile the roselia on her lap was busy keeping a close watch on Static, who seemed like she was about to attack. Fang was oblivious to the tension, fully captivated by the baby pokemon.

Charlotte faltered for a few moments before her face lit up with another smile. “Sunnyside sounds like a nice name! Sunny for short and it makes sense because togepi are meant to bring happiness,” she chirped. Harumi let loose another honeyed giggle, which she muffled with her hand.

“How sweet!” she commented. Charlotte noticed her smile droop and a hard look appear in her ruby eyes as she looked away from her. “I don’t want to put a damper on the mood but there are some important things I need to say to you.” Charlotte, too, became serious as Harumi elaborated.

“Did you happen to see a man with combed back hair and aviator shades?” Charlotte nodded in response, prompting her to shift uncomfortably. “Alright, please be wary of him. He has quite the temper and I don’t want him going around hurting,” she placed a hand on her bulging belly before continuing, “…innocent children.”

“And about that green fog – those are spores,” she revealed. “Those people wearing white radiation suits, I’m sure you’ve seen them. One of their experiments went foul and this happened. They are cleaning things up as we speak. Incidents like that and the one with the lapras will not occur again.” She was trying to remain calm and light as she spoke but she couldn’t help but sound angered at the clumsiness of the men in white – they had drawn too much negative attention to themselves.

“Uh…o-okay,” wavered Charlotte, speculating as to why Harumi was telling her all this. The green woman forced a smile again, stroking the side of the young girl’s face. Charlotte noted that she smelt strongly of fruit and flowers, as if she had spent time growing alongside them.

“Sorry I- just…it- I was warning you,” she faltered, unsure of the right way to put it. “Anyway, I must be going, I have lots of things to do today.” Struggling under her weight again, she used the log for leverage as she got up. Waving goodbye, she stepped off the path and deep into the shrubbery bordering the path, quickly disappearing in the woods.

Confused, Charlotte stared after her for a few moments, before returning her gaze to her new pokemon. Seeing that he had finished his bottle, she grinned cheerily and tended to capturing him in his own pokeball, ready to get going again.


	8. Adoption

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlotte attends an adoption held in Goldenrod Plaza, there she meets both a new pokemon, and a world renowned gym leader.

**Chapter Eight: Adoption**

Goldenrod City sprawled alongside the coast of Johto like a great monolith. Granted, it wasn’t the largest city in the world, but it was certainly the largest city in Johto. It was the centre of communications and economy in Johto, as evident in its numerous high rise office buildings. If there was something you needed to buy, one could find it in Goldenrod – the range of items available in its many malls and stores was unmatched.

Charlotte found herself totally lost in the place – not physically, but mentally. Having been raised in a small city all her life, to come across a city as large as Goldenrod was terribly overwhelming. Never had she seen so many cars roaring up and down the busy roads, never had she seen so many people and pokemon clogging the streets, never had she seen so many tall buildings and alleys.

She was aware that there was a gym here, but she was nowhere near emotionally prepared to take it on so soon after her previous battle. Instead, she decided to do some window shopping and maybe get some new clothes, since hers were already scuffed up from all her exploring. With Fang clasped tightly in her arms, she got to work having some fun around Goldenrod.

***

Complete with a new haircut and a shiny gracidea flower hairclip, Charlotte skipped out of the Goldenrod department store, shuddering at the sudden blast of cold air. The heaters must have been on inside since it was rather cool out on the streets. The sun was high in the sky, almost blinding Charlotte as she looked up at it. It was only just before midday, meaning she had much more time to kill.

Fang sat in her backpack, squishing all of her belongings. She had bought him a treat made out of tauros liver that was shaped like a bone, which kept his jaws busy as they walked. She had also bought him a necklace with a teardrop shaped charm that the clerk had told her was meant to boost the power of water type moves.

Kicking an empty can of soda along the gutter, Charlotte hummed to herself. Up ahead, in the city plaza, she noticed that a stage had been set up, made out of a stack of wooden crates. Three men dressed in white, just like the ones she had seen back in Union Cave, had attracted a small crowd of people to their activities.

Curious, Charlotte headed over there. Since she was too short to see through the crowd, she had to awkwardly push her way through the masses, apologising on her way to the front. Once there, she could see just what the fuss was about – these men were handing out pokemon.

There was a billboard titled ‘Pokemon Adoption’ along with a list of prices for each adoptable pokemon. There were several they were offering – a number of spearow, pidgey and hoot hoot, three mareep, two hoppip and one machop. The pokemon offered were kept in spacious cages to the right of the stage. Heart pounding, Charlotte saw this as a perfect opportunity to get a new pokemon for her team.

“These pokemon here have been found wandering the streets of Goldenrod, abandoned, hurt and sick,” explained one of the men, shouting at the top of his voice. “Your care will bring them back to health! So please, show some kindness and adopt one today!” Charlotte’s kind heart couldn’t help but feel sorry for the pokemon as she scanned her eyes over their miserable faces. She had trouble deciding which one to adopt – they were all great pokemon in their own ways. But she only had so much money.

“I understand what they’re trying to do,” said a masculine voice to her side. She turned towards him, meeting his moss green eyes. His brow was furrowed, jaw set in tension. “But something just seems off here.” Puzzled, Charlotte forced herself to inquire.

“U-uh what?” she stammered. “They a-are trying to find these poor pokemon a family.” He turned his gaze away from her, sliding his hands into the pockets of his denim jeans.

“That’s what I thought too, at a glance,” he began. “Look a little harder. There is discolouration in the skin and feathers of all those pokemon. Each one of them looks like they have been starved and abused beyond what is normal for wild or abandoned pokemon. They look…dead inside,” he concluded grimly.

“…I-I don’t think so,” disagreed Charlotte coyly, trying not to sound rude. She felt like the pokemon would be fine with a little love and attention. She didn’t understand exactly what the man was trying to tell her. After a few moments silence, his face lightened up and he forced out a small chuckle.

“Maybe I’m just being paranoid,” he muttered. “You looked like you were about to adopt one earlier which one do you want?” Charlotte perked up at that, scanning her eyes over the pokemon once more. Her eyes settled on the machop he had specifically pointed out just then. She had never been particularly fond of them, but for whatever reason, she couldn’t take her eyes off it.

“Fang, what do you think,” she asked. The crocodilian pokemon peered over her shoulder at the pokemon she was pointing at. Always being one for more friends, no matter the species, he let out a happy click in agreement. Charlotte beamed. “Alright, machop it is.” However, her face fell as she checked the price.

“3,000 pokeyen huh?” vocalised the man. “How much do you have?”

“2,500,” Charlotte uttered disappointingly, her features drooping. There was a brief moment where she simply stared wistfully at the pokemon, before she made a move to push her way back through the crowd again, upset that she was too poor to adopt one of those sad pokemon. However, before she could leave, the man spoke up again.

“I could get it for you if you promise me something,” he proposed. Charlotte turned to him immediately, ready to do whatever he wanted. “Come with me to the pokemon centre so we can see what exactly is wrong with her.” It was a strange request but Charlotte didn’t mind, so long as she got that poor machop. She nodded in agreement.

He then approached the closest man in white, requesting to purchase the machop. Whilst he did so, Charlotte studied his appearance, swearing that he looked somewhat familiar.

His spiky golden brown hair appeared to have been styled using product. His engaging green eyes possessed a look of seriousness though if one stared for long enough, they could see the mischievousness behind it all. They shone just as brightly as the pedant around his neck. He wore a black dress shirt with a raised collar that fit his toned physique well. His jeans were also a tight fit.

Charlotte noticed that he had six pokeballs attached to his belt – a sight that made her uneasy. Most trainers with six pokemon were known to be strong.

In a flash of hot realisation, she recognised him as one of the gym leaders of the neighbouring Kanto region – Green Oak. She had heard stories of his long-standing rivalry with the missing champion Red and how their battles were amazing enough that they used to draw great crowds that were enough to fill a stadium. Limbs shaking, Charlotte could barely comprehend that such a man was buying a pokemon for her.

“Here,” he said, snapping her out of her thoughts as he handed her machop’s pokeball. “Now, let’s fulfil your side of the bargain and head to the pokemon centre.” Charlotte nodded meekly, unable to meet his eyes in her embarrassment.

***

As soon as the nurse scanned machop’s pokeball, she broke into a panic. She quickly called upon another nurse and a chansey assistant to follow her to the emergency room immediately. Machop was let out of its pokeball and laid down on a bed before being promptly wheeled down the hall.

“Green, is it going to be okay?” exclaimed Charlotte, panic-stricken. He shrugged expansively, expression grim and solemn.

“Just like I thought – there is something seriously wrong with those pokemon they were selling,” he replied, more to himself than Charlotte.

He seemed genuinely concerned as he placed a heavy hand on her shoulder, telling her to relax, stay calm and wait for the nurse to come back with results. Trembling, Charlotte slumped down on a nearby lounge, Fang scurrying onto her lap, sensing her unease. He nudged her hand with his muzzle, leading her to shakily pet him. Green sat beside her, tilting his head backwards and letting go of a deep sigh.

No words were exchanged between them as the minutes crawled by. Charlotte did not relax throughout this time – she was too concerned for the health of the machop she adopted. She hadn’t even interacted with the creature yet, but her kind heart was predisposed to pity for pokemon and people she didn’t even know.

It felt like years had passed by the time the two nurses returned from the emergency room, this time without machop. Charlotte leapt to her feet and was at the counter in moments, totodile in her arms, asking about the sick pokemon. The nurses seemed weary, yet relieved all the same.

“There appears to have been some bacteria infecting machop’s bloodstream which ultimately makes her tired and withdrawn. We have never seen anything like it, but the medications we have seem to be working,” she explained. “With luck, you should be able to pick her up tomorrow afternoon with a course of antibiotics. But I would suggest keeping her out of battles for at least a week.”

The nurse spoke in a withheld tone, trying to put it in such a way that wasn’t too gory for the young girl. Charlotte didn’t quite understand all that the nurse was trying to say but nodded anyway.

“Would I be able to speak with you privately?” she questioned Green in a hushed voice, seeming extremely concerned all of a sudden. He nodded, and the woman led him into a spare recovery room down the hall. Charlotte listened to the doors click behind them, leaving her alone. She stood stock still for a time, trying to figure out what would be best to do now.

She wanted to stay until she had machop with her again, but she knew it would be ages until that happened and even someone as anxious with worry as her gets bored. She needed something to get her mind of her worries about her new pokemon. Therefore, she hesitantly left the pokemon centre, setting off in the direction of the nearest park, which just so happened to be across the road.

***

Green leant against the external wall of the pokemon center, massaging his temples. He had a feeling something was off with the whole adoption scenario – with those pokemon. His little chat with the nurse revealed to him that the bacteria wasn’t initially detrimental to machop’s health – in fact, the reason for machop’s emotional withdrawal and weariness was due to the bacteria somehow forcing its body to work harder and rapidly produce more muscle mass.

It overworked the body so much that it actually became impossible for the pokemon to sustain itself, leading to malnutrition and actual weakness. In this way, it was identical to pokerus. Affected pokemon’s skin was covered in tiny, white, bacterial growths which caused discolouration in the skin – it appeared to be a side effect.

All these symptoms were too specific to be organic – this bacterium was manufactured and the prime suspects were the ones putting those pokemon up for adoption. Green had planned to call the police to crack down on them, but they had all but disappeared from the plaza and he wasn’t about to start some wild goose chase without a clear indication to where they went off to.

Apparently, those men in white were part of a Johto-born organisation of medical researchers known as the ‘Spore Initiative’. Over the twenty years since their creation, they have had a couple of medical break throughs that improved the lives of pokemon in particular, but there have been many cases of experiments gone wrong that led to the endangerment of lives instead.

The reason as to why the government hadn’t shut them down yet, Green had no clue.

Upon asking around Goldenrod, he discovered that they owned a government-funded laboratory in the Underground, in the old Team Rocket hide-out. If Green was going to find immediate answers, that was the best place for him to go.

Pushing off the wall, he chose to send out his machamp – if anyone down there threatened him, it would quickly silence them. It roared as it materialized before him, flexing its double pairs of muscles. With that, they headed towards the nearest stairs to the Goldenrod underground, prepared to face whatever came before them.

***

Goldenrod’s underground subway was host to many low-rent stores and stalls, some of which seeming pretty shady. The tunnel was lit by white florescent tube lights, some of which flickered in an irritating, strobing fashion. In the darkest parts of the tunnels, away from prying eyes, Green knew there to be illegal trades and battles. It wasn’t his business to be involved in such things – his sights were set on the white, steel doors to the side of one particular branch of the underground.

Upon approaching the doors, he noticed a large ‘S’ painted onto the door in green, a sign of the Spore Initiative’s presence. He also saw the key pad to the left of the door, the pin to which he obviously had no clue off. Weighing up his options, he chose to press the buzzer button on the keypad and see whether or not they would give him a tour – he is a gym leader after all and with such a title comes authority.

He didn’t have to wait long before a tone rang out from behind the doors, which swung inwards to reveal a young man dressed in a lab coat, with a surgeon’s mask covering his nose and mouth. He pulled the mask down to his neck before he spoke.

“Gym Leader Green,” he said, sounding a little surprised. “What brings you to our humble laboratory?” Green noticed the man’s cautionary glance at his machamp before meeting his eyes. The brunette smiled warmly as he assumed a casual pose.

“Well I caught wind of your organisation’s great work and I’ve been in Johto lately so I figured I might as well scope things out,” he said. “Hey, if I think things are good enough I might even put in a word to my superiors about the Spore Initiative being funded in Kanto,” he added as a bit of incentive. The grunt’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.

“Y-yeah sure,” he stammered. “Welcome, I’ll give you the grand tour of our Goldenrod facility.”

The man stepped aside, allowing Green to enter the facility, followed by his machamp who had to duck his head on the way in. The laboratory was not large, as it was built in the largely unused basement of Goldenrod’s largest department store, but it seems that through a few renovations, they’ve managed to cram absolutely everything a laboratory needs into the space.

The first thing Green noticed was just how pristinely clean the place was. He knew little of what the basement was like before, but he could tell that the smooth, white paint coating the walls was fresh and that the beige tiles had been vigorously scrubbed. There appeared to be a total of six labs present in the facility, each fitted with a rectangular glass window for observations.

Green’s guide stopped in front of the first lab. “I’m sure you want to hear about what we do here,” he stated. The scientist seemed nervous as he exchanged glances with another scientist inside the lab. Green took a few steps forward, peering through the window. There, he saw numerous potted plants that hung from the walls and the ceiling. Two large beds sat in the centre of the room, a vileplume seated on the one closest to the door.

Green watched with furrowed eyebrows as one of the two scientists present in the room fed the pokemon some sort of amber mixture. It screwed up its face at the taste, but didn’t make too much of a fuss. He noticed that both the scientists were wearing gas masks, most likely to protect themselves from vileplume’s spores.

“We use lab 1 and 2 for the collection of plant and pokemon matter. We hope that we will be able to use their biological components to create break-through new-age medicine,” he explained nonchalantly. Green nodded in approval.

“Go on, I would like to see more of your good work,” he said as he was lead past the second lab and towards the third and fourth. As they walked on, Green could see that his guide was becoming more and more anxious, as if something was about to pounce on him. However, he did not let his nerves show in his speech.

“These two labs are where we perform various testing on the biological components gathered in labs 1 and 2,” he said. Green had been expecting him to elaborate further but he said nothing more. Peering inside, he saw that lab 3 was set up just like any other biological testing facility – nothing out of the ordinary.  “Lab 4 in particular is where we work with spores.”

“Interesting,” muttered Green under his voice. “But I have to ask,” he spoke up, turning to face the scientist directly. “What kind of testing are you doing with these components?” The guide was silent for a few moments before shrugging expansively.

“Not my clearance, I’m afraid Mr. Oak,” he told. “I usually work in lab 1 and 2.” His expression seemed to lighten up as he went on, as if he had figured something out. “In fact, I don’t even have the clearance to know what is going on in labs 5 and 6. All I know is that is where the magic happens.” Green’s face fell as he moved closer to his guide, prompting him to take a precautionary step away.

“So where do you keep the rescue pokemon? I’ve heard that you have worked with the Aether Foundation to conserve pokemon,” Green pointed out, placing his hands on his hips.

“Downstairs,” the scientist answered swiftly. “I’m not allowed to take guests down there.”

“So this facility was in charge of that adoption held in Goldenrod’s plaza earlier today?” Green put forth as casually as possible. As a follow up, he added, “That was very charitable – just imagine how the lives of both pokemon and people were enriched.” Now his guide was visibly tensing up, only adding further evidence to Green’s investigation – something was very off here. Something just didn’t feel genuine.

“Yes. We wish to give those pokemon a better chance at life,” he replied curtly.

“You know I can’t help but wonder why this medically advanced facility couldn’t make the effort to cure whatever ailments the pokemon have,” criticised Green as he slid his arm over the scientist’s shoulders, preventing him from escaping. A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead as Green’s machamp leering closer, flexing its fists.

“Mr.Oak,” he hissed. “I think it’s time I got back to work.” Green released him from his grip with a heavy sigh as disappointment rung through him – if he tried to say here longer, he would draw even more suspicion to himself. He got what he needed from them at the moment anyway.

“Alright then, guess I’ll be smelling you later,” he chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’ll see myself out.” With that, he turned his back on the scientist, whistling for his machamp to follow. He could feel the scientist’s eyes glaring into his back as he headed towards the door – there would be no wandering off for further investigations.

Once he had returned to the Goldenrod tunnels, he quickly dialled the number of his infamous rival. He had half been expecting him not to answer, so he was a little late to respond when he did.

With an exaggerated groan, he said: “I hate admitting you are right, Red, but the Spore Initiative is definitely involved in some shady business.”

**Author's Note:**

> {Updates will be irregular - hiatuses will occur}


End file.
